


Can't Breathe

by Nifawiwa



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Basically I took the name 'Phantom' way to literaly, Because I am that cruel, Heavy Angst, Horror, I tried to write a horrible story, I'm a monster someone stop me, M/M, Mentally unstable Akashi, Mystery, Not for the weak-hearted, Paranormal, Sleeping Pills, Slow Build, Tragedy, Written for Akashi's birthday, sedatives, tragic ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-08 06:14:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8833537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nifawiwa/pseuds/Nifawiwa
Summary: Coping with the death of your loved one is never easy. Especially not when said loved one isn't too keen on leaving you so soon. Such a thing could drive anyone insane. And Akashi never had a stable mind to begin with. ---Written for Akashi's birthday.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING.
> 
> Hopefully that got your attention. Now, there are a couple of things I wish to say before proceeding to the actual story. First, the warning.
> 
> WARNING: NOT FOR THE WEAK-HEARTED. WILL contain heavy angst, horror, tragedy elements, paranormal elements, depressing, painful scenes, thoughts of suicide, unnerving events, mental instability - overall a horrible story. Do not read if you are easily affected by such things.
> 
> Seriously, this is not your regular light story which won't affect you in any way. I'm not saying it certainly will, I'm only talking from my perspective. I would never read such a thing, because I am easily affected by elements that will be present in this fic. I repeat: I myself would NEVER read such a story. So all of you, especially my regular readers, who read all of my other stories, think carefully before choosing to read this. This will certainly not be a happy story. It was my goal to make this story as horrible and tragic as I could and to inflict negative emotions. Why, you ask? Because I always wanted to try this and I am a horrible person. Why else would I write this for my most beloved character's, Akashi's, birthday? Because yes, I am a monster, not even hiding that. Nevertheless, I feel the need to warn all of you beforehand.
> 
> Now, if you are still reading this, let me explain a few things. First, how this is going to work. This story overall will have 7 chapters, last one being on the 20th of December, aka Akashi's birthday. In other words, I will post an update every day for a week. Some chapters will be longer, some shorter, depending on the events and the need to finish it at a certain point.
> 
> Second, yes, you understood correctly, this is my way of contributing to our beloved captain's birthday. You may not understand how this is relevant to his birthday, but that will be clear by the end of this story. I know, I'm a monster for writing such a 'contribution'. What can I say, I may have some issues.
> 
> Third, I believe if you read this quite a few questions will arise. I apologize, but I will most likely not answer any of them, since that is part of the story and I wish to retain the element of mystery and surprise as long as I can.
> 
> Fourth, for those who enjoy heavy angst and horror: I apologize if I don't meet your expectations with this story. I honestly tried my very best and this is the first story where I try such things. Sure, my other fics do include some angst, but not nearly as much as here. Again, I'm sorry if I don't meet your expectations. Please be gentle with me.
> 
> Fifth, about the whole idea. I'd be lying if I said that one of the elements of this story is an original one. I've been very into creepy pasta for a few months now, so naturally different ideas began blossoming inside my head, though I merely took inspiration from one of those stories. After the first chapter it changes quite a bit. The whole story will have multiple elements of horror by the way.
> 
> And sixth, feel free to hate me for this all you want. I knew fully well what I was getting myself into when I started writing this story. #noregrets. Still, I think the worst part of this is that I wrote this fic specifically for Akashi's birthday. I mean, how much more horrible can I get? Seriously, my dear readers, if you don't want to ruin your image of me, I suggest you don't read this. I wouldn't.
> 
> I hope I got my point straight. So anyway, if you still chose to read this, I hope you enjoy!

_How many days has it been already?.._

Akashi turned his head on the pillow and glanced at the calendar on top of his nightstand.

_Oh right._

Exactly eleven months and ten days.

_That_ day was nearing.

Ever since _that_ eventful day, Akashi stopped celebrating his birthday. He never enjoyed doing so in the first place and only because _he_ kept asking did the redhead do so. Only for _him._ Everything was for _him._ So then... Why should he continue celebrating?

There was absolutely no reason left.

_'Father will get angry. You should get up already.'_

_'You're meeting Midorima today. You should get up already.'_

_'...The sun has risen. You should get up already.'_

He needed reasons everyday. Every single morning he needed reasons _why_ he should get up. It was so easy to lose oneself if there wasn't any meaning left after all. But he couldn't. He couldn't simply give up. As much as he wanted to... He-

The alarm rang. For the fourth time. No, Akashi didn't need six alarms to chase the sleep away fully, he needed them to keep track of time. It wasn't as if he slept all that much after all. Only stared at the red numbers, slowly changing, uncaring of the world around them. Uncaring of anything, simply executing their everyday duty. Just as the sun. The sun and those godforsaken numbers reminding him every second that time didn't stop. That it was still flowing as always. That such trivial matters as _death_ had no effect on it. Morning came everyday, the sun rose everyday, the clock ticked everyday, despite _him_ not being able to feel any of it anymore.

Akashi slowly lifted the covers from his body and groggily sat up on the soft mattress. He extended his hand to the clock and finally shut down the alarm.

_The fourth one, huh?_

At least he was making progress.

_'Now, get up and head to the bathroom.'_

The redhead forced his unwilling legs to stand up. His destination was just a couple of meters away.

_'It would be bad if someone entered. Hurry up.'_

Akashi complied. What else could he do?

Finally in the bathroom, the male turned to the clear mirror and looked at his own morning appearance. The same as always, nothing new. The same white skin. The same dark bags. The same pale lips. The same tousled crimson locks. The same blank, empty eyes.

_'Now head to the shower. You'll feel better afterwards.'_

Akashi noted he was running out of makeup. He should buy some more at the city today. Maybe some shampoo as well. The bottle was already almost empty. What a wonderful thing it was that he didn't live alone. What a wonderful thing it was he was still at the top of his university. What a wonderful thing it was everyone expected perfection out of him despite himself not feeling any motivation of continuing. The male doubted he would care for such trivial matters in his opinion otherwise. Why else if not the general opinion of him would Akashi now, fresh out of the shower, stare at his own reflection for a few seconds before taking out the dry concealer and neatly applying it over his face and neck. A perfect Akashi couldn't have skin as white as paper after all. Afterwards he applied an extra layer of it underneath his eyes. A perfect Akashi couldn't look tired after all. Then, he oh-so slightly powdered his cheeks with distant pink, gently painted a bit of mascara on his eyelashes and, to finish it off, applied a thin layer of dim color of red on his pale lips.

An Akashi- no, a human had to look _alive_ after all.

_'Great. Now, head back and dress yourself. You mustn't be late.'_

Complying, the male, without another glance to the mirror, exited the bathroom. Today... today was a school day. That meant he had to wear a uniform. Perfect. At least he wouldn't have to think about his attire.

_'Ten minutes left.'_

More than enough time.

…

Makeup: check.

Attire: check.

Bag: check.

Bed: check.

Phone and keys: check.

Perfect, time for breakfast then.

Two minutes left. His father should be pleased with his punctuality.

...Why was he living with his father again?

Oh right, because the apartment he had bought-

_'You're here. Remember your manners.'_

The redhead opened the door and entered the dining room. After quickly glancing at the clock on the far wall he noted that he was right on time.

_'So far so good.'_

''Morning, father,'' the male spoke, closing the door behind him.

What a wonderful thing it was that Akashi was a master of concealing his emotions. No one could make up anything from that blank, monotonous voice.

Not that anyone cared all that much.

The one only one who did was now-

_'Do not daze off.'_

''Morning, Seijuurou,'' the man answered with a nod, observing the redhead as he made his way to the table.

For a good while the pair ate in silence, only the clanking of the metal forks and knives could had been heard. Akashi preferred it that way. It was much, _much_ easier pretending everything was-

''I'll be leaving tomorrow for a month.''

-fine.

''...I see,'' the teen answered blankly, not lifting his eyes to the man on the other side of the table.

A pause.

''You will in charge of managing the company here while I'm gone.''

Another one.

''...Understood.''

''I expect only the best performance.''

''Naturally.''

''Also, I left a few files on suitable women for your marriage on your table at the office. Do look through them. Time is running out and money isn't waiting. The quicker we form a stable partnership with one of those companies, the better.''

Akashi paused the knife on his tasteless toast.

''I allowed you a year to mourn, but now we must get back on track. Honestly, it's a good thing that nuisance is finally out of your way, he only kept hindering with the company's work.''

The teen clenched the metal utensils to the point of his knuckles turning white.

_He..._ a nuisance?

_'Deep breaths, remember, deep breaths.'_

_'Don't expect him to understand.'_

_'Inhale, exhale.'_

Listening only to the voice in his head, Akashi managed to calm his raging mind and loosen up the tight grip on the utensils.

Nevertheless, the male already imagined how all those files were going to the shredder.

_No way_ was he marrying anyone. All thoughts of marriage were ripped to pieces ever since _that_ day. Ever since _he-_

_'Your breakfast will get cold.'_

* * *

There was a clear reason why Akashi disliked meeting with Midorima.

''Now tell me, Akashi, how are you?''

He always saw through him.

''I'm fine,'' the redhead answered as if a broken record, lifting the steaming cup of bitter ( _tasteless_ ) black coffee to his lips, not looking at the male in front of him.

''Mhmm,'' Midorima hummed, closely observing the other. ''From the fact that you are still wearing makeup and I assume that you are not.''

Akashi flinched almost unnoticeably. Only Midorima could notice his near flawless mask.

''What do you expect me to say, Shintarou?'' the redhead momentarily glanced at the green-haired male.

A pause.

''Akashi, it has already been almost a year and yet you're still just... existing. You may fool everyone else, but I can see you are not living.''

''Again, what do you expect me to say?''

''Your health is worsening, isn't it?'' Midorima's voice sounded grim. ''You seem more frail by the day. This cannot continue any longer, Akashi.''

''I do not wish to discuss this any further.''

''Take a vacation, Akashi,'' the male continued, completely ignoring the other's blank, though with a hint of irritation words. ''You need time to properly mourn. Otherwise you're never going to get over this. _He_ would be devastated if hesaw you like this.''

''Don't you dare mention _him_ ,'' Akashi snapped angrily, sudden emotion flowing into his expression. ''No one knows what _he_ would have thought, because _he's dead, he's gone,_ so _don't you ever mention him again._ ''

Midorima was slightly taken aback by the other's sudden outburst. His voice was full of dark venom, usually dull eyes burned with rage. However, just as quickly as those emotions appeared, they were wiped away from the redhead's features and that blank mask once again returned. Akashi averted his eyes from the male in front of him and only stared out the clear window, not seeing anything.

''Take some time to yourself,'' the green-haired male started once again, this time softer. ''Be alone for a few weeks. You should have done that from the beginning, but since you went to your classes _the very next day_ , no wonder you're still like this. You didn't have time to properly mourn. Believe me, it'll help. I would also suggest a therapist, but I doubt you'd listen to that.''

_'He's right you know.'_

Seeing as how Akashi wasn't answering anything, Midorima sighed and, as if on instinct, fixed his spectacles.

''We all grieved his death, Akashi. I know it was... is the worst for you, but we all mourned. We managed to accept it and move on. You should do so as well. It's time to put this behind you. I know you don't want me to talk like this, but... I know _he_ would want you to move on. To be happy again. You know that as well.''

_'He's right, you know he's right.'_

_'To be alone... Doesn't that sound nice?'_

That did sound nice.

_'Just for a bit... Not too long.'_

He always wanted to cut off the outside world ever since _then_.

_'Besides, now would be a perfect time.'_

His father was leaving on a trip... He could dismiss all servants for a few weeks and have the mansion all to himself.

_'Wouldn't that be nice?'_

Just for a bit.

* * *

_**December 2nd** _

It was rather odd being in such a huge mansion all by himself. Not a single footstep, not a single crack, not a single sound could have been heard in the whole house besides Akashi's quiet rummaging in his room. Finally alone he decided it would be a good idea to tidy up his room, maybe throw away some unnecessary things or rearrange them. He barely touched anything for almost a year, so it was about time.

Of course, that wasn't such an easy task.

Not long after _that_ day, Akashi took all the things associated to _him_ and randomly threw them in his drawers, anywhere out of sight. As long as his eyes couldn't lay a single look on anything that could remind the redhead of _him,_ Akashi believed he wouldn't hurt as much ( _not that it helped_ ). That being said, he now had to reopen those still painfully throbbing wounds and remember all those hurtful to the heart memories. In best case scenario throw all those painful things away. Midorima was right, he had to try and move on.

However, that proved to be harder than expected.

The first thing that Akashi found in one of his drawers that clenched his heart painfully was a music box. A music box that played such a beautiful song, _Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz._ The male remembered how he used to listen to it all the time, even if it was a bit rusty due to being an antique item. How could he not? It was gifted to him on his eighteenth birthday by the one he loved so much. Akashi remembered how _he_ seemed very unsure of his gift, since _he_ thought it wouldn't be enough or Akashi wouldn't like it, but the latter assured _him_ he loved it. Oh and how he did. He used to play it over and over again, the memory of his beloved always bubbling up in his mind...

Akashi's hand clenching the music box hovered above the trash bag for a few seconds before the redhead lowered it to the ground. He couldn't do it. As much as the mere sight of it sent burning pangs to his heart, he couldn't throw away _his_ gift. The box was most likely was all dusty and held painful memories, but Akashi couldn't just simply get rid of such an important thing that had been to _him_. That was to him.

With that thought Akashi heavily stood up and walked over to his bed. Kneeling down, he with difficulty fished out a small, wooden box from underneath it, covered in a rich layer of dust. Carefully opening it, the male as quickly as possible placed the music box inside it and closed it once again. He didn't wish to see the other contents of it. He was still not ready.

After shoving the box back under the bed as far as possible, Akashi straightened up and plumped down on his bed. Even such a simple task seemingly took so much energy. He didn't wish to continue anymore, he wanted to take a break. However, he doubted he would get any sleep if he tried, so in the end he decided to perhaps surf the net for a bit, maybe calm down his throbbing heart.

The red-haired male took his laptop from the counter next to his bed and, after making himself comfortable on soft mattress, turned it on. The first page that popped up in his browser was, for some reason, a social media one. Well, might as well see if there were any news. It had been such a long time since he last logged in to this site after all.

Akashi blankly scrolled down the page for a few minutes, his eyes not really registering anything before he leaned back and released a deep sigh. This was useless, he wasn't interested in the lives of others at all. They held no meaning to him. The only life that did was now-

The male's eyes traveled to a certain profile, one that hadn't had a green bubble to it for almost a year now. As if he were a robot, his hand directed the mouse to it and clicked. A newpage popped up. Akashi instinctively brought one hand to his mouth as he bit his lower lip painfully.

' _Calm down, calm down. It's about time anyway._ '

With shaking fingers, the redhead began slowly scrolling down the profile. It had been so long... So long since he saw _him._ And yet, nothing seemed to change. All those photographs remained, frozen in time. From them a pair of clear, blue eyes, softly smiling at the camera stared seemingly right into Akashi's soul. The same as always. As if nothing had happened. As if the owner of them could still look like that. As if the owner of them could still-

There weren't only photos of _him_ though. Many of them contained other people, either _his_ former classmates, friends from middle school and high-school and Akashi. _He_ hadn't been a big fan of such websites, but, nevertheless, most of _his_ pictures contained Akashi in them, no matter whether the redhead had given his permission or not. Not that he minded. He always secretly enjoyed being in the center of _his_ attention and would always grow jealous whenever _he_ would post a photo with some other people, not that Akashi would have ever admitted.

The male's eyes landed on a specific picture which he knew all too well. That day the two of them had a date, but _he_ was very late and, since _he_ didn't pick up his phone, Akashi grew very worried. So when _he_ finally showed up with an excuse of '' _There was a sale on vanilla milkshakes_ '' in his favorite cafe, naturally Akashi got angry at _him_ for making him worry so much. Not that it affected _him_ that much.

**Kuroko Tetsuya**

_2015, September 6_

'Akashi-kun is being grumpy again' – _with_ ** _Akashi Seijuurou_**

There was a photo of a clearly sulking Akashi, who refused to look at the male besides him, who had been clinging to his arm for the past few minutes. Even though _he_ usually displayed a blank expression, this time a small, almost invisible smile was playing on _his_ lips. _He_ always knew when Akashi was honestly mad at him and when he was just trying to get his point across. That had been one of those times.

Akashi brought his shaking hand to his closed eyes and pressed on them painfully. He had been bitting his lip so hard that he even started feeling a metallic taste in his mouth. Not that he cared about that. The redhead was trying his best to control that stinging sensation in his eyes, that _burning_ feeling that wanted to escape. He wished to feel something, _anything_ rather than that immense pain clenching his heart, threatening to tear it apart ( _again_ ) at any moment. There was nothing he could do, it was hopeless, every thought was useless now. Oh what Akashi wouldn't do to be able to bring back all those times when he was mad at _him_ and tell _him_ over and over again that he wasn't, that he never was and never will be, that he-

_Oh God, Tetsuya. I miss you so much._

What he wouldn't do to be able to-

A single beep resonated through the room. It had taken Akashi a few moments to realize it was his computer, indicating a new message. Whoever could be writing him at this hour? Everyone should have been asleep by now. He didn't wish to speak to anyone right now. Maybe he should just simply close his laptop and try to head to sleep?..

However, curiosity got the better of the male and he removed his hand from his eyes, opening them in the process to look at whoever was messaging him.

When the redhead did, however, his blood ran cold.

As if every single function in his body stopped working.

He could only stare at the red notification next to a name that never again should be able to say anything.

There wasn't any green bubble next to the name, but the red one, indicating one new message was still there.

Akashi could feel his heart racing in his throat.

' _Calm down, someone must be simply using his account. There is no reason to panic._ '

Yes... Of course.

Akashi shook his head.

All those movies were really getting to him.

Nevertheless...

It said _his_ account wasn't active though.

The male slowly, with slightly trembling fingers started to direct the mouse to the name in order to open the chat before a second beep rang, indicating another message. The number _2_ was now present next to the name that shouldn't be active.

Hesitantly, Akashi opened the chat to see whatever was written to him.

_2016, December 2, 23:45_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** Hello? Akashi-kun_

_23:46_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** Hello? Akashi-kun_

Whoever was writing him was seemingly trying to act like _him_. However, the male was still too shocked to actually feel angered by that.

_23:47_

_**Akashi Seijuurou:** Who is this?_

The reply came right away.

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** The weather is cold today, you should bring a jacket_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** It's just around the corner_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** Trust me, the bus will be arriving shortly_

It took Akashi a few moments to realize that whoever was writing him was texting him old messages from their chat. The male could remember all the conversations these messages were from and it only clenched his heart harder.

Whoever was doing this was sick.

_23:48_

_**Akashi Seijuurou:** Who the hell is this? Do you realize who you are messing with?_

There was silence for a couple of minutes.

_23:50_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** I didn't want to, Akashi-kun. Kise-kun made me_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** I didn't want to, Akashi-kun._

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** I didn't want to, Akashi-kun._

Alright, this was beginning to creep the red-haired male out. By this point he was already boiling with rage that someone _dared_ to mess with him like that and now this..?

_23:52_

_**Akashi Seijuurou:** Whoever this is, I will find you. Stop this immediately or you will face the consequences._

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** It's just around the corner_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** Trust me, the bus will be arriving shortly_

There was obviously no use in continuing this any further. The person on the other side was obviously so _idiotic_ and _foolishly daring_ that Akashi doubted they would actually answer or listen to him. The only option he had was to track the IP address tomorrow, since today he was far too tired and emotional. And then...

Whoever decided it would be fun to mess with him would pay the price.

With that thought Akashi shut down his computer without replying anything and placed it on the cabinet next to his bed. He didn't have any energy to continue this any further.

And to think such sick people actually existed.

* * *

_**December 3rd** _

…

_December 3, 01:28_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** He said not to come, you should listen_

…

_02:54_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** Akashi-kun is always right, isn't he_

…

_04:13_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** is always right_

…

In the morning Akashi had hoped that last night was just a bad ( _horrific_ ) dream. Of course, such a thought occurred to him every single day the moment he opened his eyes, but, unfortunately, this time, as any other, all his hopes were thrown away the moment he took his phone and turned it on. Just as he feared, last night events were not just a sick nightmare. A bubble with a picture of a person he once loved so much ( _still do, until the end_ ) had popped up on his main screen, displaying a small red bubble with the number _3_ next to it.

Akashi quickly checked the sick messages, but it was still nonsense. Why the hell did that person text him at such hours?

However, this time the male decided he wouldn't write anything. He wouldn't give this bastard the satisfaction of witnessing his frustration. No, he'll wait until he tracked him down and skinned him alive. Akashi had set his mind on making this person's remaining life a living nightmare for messing with him like that.

Unfortunately, professional hacking wasn't in Akashi's skill set, so if he wished to track down whoever was using _his_ account, he'd have to hire a professional. Those were never cheap, but the redhead had more than enough money. The only problem was finding a reliable person.

* * *

Akashi spent the whole day on his task. He couldn't pick up some random person off the street after all. Besides, he wanted the job to be done as quickly as possible.

At least it seemed that bastard decided to give him a break with those damned messages.

It was approximately ten in the evening when the redhead finally received the so-awaited phone call. Those texts had shaken him up so much that the male couldn't focus on anything else that day. He wished to solve this mystery as quickly as possible and hopefully try to get back on track. Those messages were the last thing he needed these days.

So, naturally, as soon as his phone rang, displaying an _unknown_ number, he immediately picked up.

'' _I have your information,_ '' the person on the other end spoke before Akashi had a chance.

''I'm listening,'' the redhead replied seriously, a hint of venom painting his voice.

'' _The account you asked to track has been inactive for almost_ _a_ _year. No one was using it for exactly eleven months and_ _fourteen_ _days._ ''

…

''What? That's impossible,'' Akashi snapped, an unknown emotion suddenly welling up inside him. ''Someone messaged me last night using that account, several times even.''

'' _I apologize, but there is literally nothing to track. You may ask other professionals to confirm it, but I can guarantee you this information is_ _reliable. It must have been a bug._ ''

''What do you mean 'must have been'? Shouldn't someone like you be able to tell?''

Akashi was slowly getting enraged.

''... _Actually, no. I tried hacking in that account, but all it shows me is a blank page. No information, no photos, no chats, nothing. A page, yes, but completely empty. ...If truth be told, I've never come across anything like this. When you check that account from another one, everything seems fine, but when I hacked in... nothing. As if that page doesn't actually exist. Must be a serious bug. If you wish to fix it, I suggest you contact the company itself._ ''

''...And any other professional would tell me the same?''

'' _I can guarantee you that. I'm no amateur, I know what I'm doing. And I can say this for sure: no one was using that account for a long time. Those messages you got must have been a bug._ ''

''...I see. In that case, would it be possible to deactivate that account completely?''

'' _Of course. Do you want me to do it?_ ''

''Not yet,'' Akashi bit his lower lip and thought for a moment. ''For now send me the details of it so I could log in myself.''

'' _Understood. It will arrive shortly._ ''

With that, the call ended.

Akashi lowered the phone from his ear and stared at the black screen for a few moments. If truth be told, he didn't expect such an answer.

_'A bug? Just a bug? Just a very disturbing bug?'_

That was a bit hard to believe.

' _Nevertheless, just a malfunction, right?_ '

…

After a few minutes his phone vibrated in his hand, indicating a new text message. Quickly opening it, the redhead found the information he needed to access _his_ account.

For some reason this felt wrong.

Such a thought rang inside Akashi's mind as he turned on his laptop and opened up the main page. It felt as if he was disrupting _his_ own privacy. It felt... sickening. Nevertheless, the male wished to solve this. Secretly he hoped that it really was just a bug and he wouldn't see that damned red bubble ever again next to his deceased lover's name.

Quickly entering the information, the redhead, with a deep breath, pressed log-in.

…

Something was wrong.

He couldn't access the account.

It didn't simply say _Incorrect Password or Username._

It accepted the information.

However, the page was completely disheveled.

As if a virus had infected his computer. Akashi couldn't make out a single thing with all those straight horizontal black and white lines across his screen, he couldn't even see the mouse.

Suddenly, without warning, those lines began cracking, faster and faster, until, with a loud beep, the browser completely shut down.

…

Akashi stared at the computer screen, feeling his heart racing in his throat.

His mind was spinning, a dull ache began forming in his head.

He had to remember how to breathe.

_It's just a bug, it's just a bug, it'sjustabug, IT'SJUSTABUG_

*beep beep*

Akashi sharply flinched at the sound, that cut through the deafening silence like a knife. A sound he knew all too well.

With shaking fingers the male reached out for the phone on the nightstand next to his bed and unlocked it.

To his horror, there was that godforsaken red bubble next to _HIS_ picture.

_22:28_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** I told you, didn't I?_

A pause.

_22:29_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** Akashi-kun is always right_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** is always right_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** I don't think that's a good idea_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** I don't think_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya** : is always right_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** Akashi-kun should listen to me more often_

_**Kuroko Tetsuya:** listen to me more often_

Akashi quickly shut down the Internet on his phone. He erased the app from his phone. He erased every app he could. He restarted the device.

After a couple of minutes, the male's swiftly, yet with trembling fingers dialed a certain number.

Not even the second ring it was declined.

After exactly a minute his phone rang again and Akashi immediately answered.

''Delete that account,'' the redhead spoke urgently, not giving the person on the other line a chance to speak. ''Delete it right now.''

'' _Hey, calm down. If you say so, I'm on in. Did something happen?_ ''

''No questions. Just. Delete. It. And as soon as possible, I do not wish to sleep knowing that account is active. I'll pay you as much as you need, just delete it right now.''

'' _I told you, I'm on it. It will soon be done._ ''

''Great. Good night.''

With that Akashi ended the call.

He cast a glance at his motionless, innocent computer before shutting it down.

Damned bugs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your support! It's my first time writing something like this, so I'm rather unsure of it. I would really appreciate it if you told me your thoughts!

_** December 6th ** _

For a few days everything seemed normal. No weird malfunctions, no sick messages. Well, there couldn't have been any after all. All this time Akashi stayed away from that website completely, not even checking in on his laptop. He didn't dare to open it at all actually. The redhead could still feel that sickening feeling in his throat when those haunting black and white lines appeared over his whole screen.

They seemed so unnatural.

All these days Akashi tried to be at home as least as possible. It didn't matter where, anywhere but there. Maybe parks, maybe forests, maybe crowded streets. Somewhere to clear his mind, to divert his thoughts from those sickening events. To convince himself they were nothing but a simple bug. Now with _his_ account was deactivated, deleted even, everything would go back to normal. Now with _his_ account gone--

Akashi suddenly stopped in his tracks on the path back to his house as his heart plunged down to his feet.

In all that hastiness that night he forgot that by deleting _his_ account, all those photos were also erased along with it.

That realization hit Akashi harder than he would have wanted. 

The corners of his eyes began stinging as regret began eating him from the inside. Sickening regret.

' _Calm down, perhaps someone, for example Kise, had those photos saved. Maybe they're not yet lost._ '

Akashi brought a hand over his heart and tried taking deep breaths. Perhaps that was true. Perhaps not all was lost.

As much as he wished to push all _those_ memories to the back of his mind, he certainly didn't wish for them to be forgotten.

_ He  _ would always remain inside him, as an unhealing wound, paining him for all eternity. Reminding him of his mistakes, of his wrong-doings, of all those times he could still smile.

It had been a year since Akashi last genuinely smiled.

He should get ahold of himself.

-.-

Even though the redhead knew he had to return back to his home at some point, he certainly didn't wish to. Ever since that night, a dark, heavy aura seeped into the house, especially his bedroom. Akashi understood he was perhaps simply being paranoid, that all those unwanted thoughts were just getting to him, but the male still nevertheless wished to stay away from his home. To not feel that uneasy aura.

However, he could not act like a child forever.

That day, when Akashi finally returned to the mansion and entered his room, he decided to finally turn on his computer. As much as he wished to, the male could not stay isolated from the world forever. Sooner or later he'd have to get over his irrational fear anyway.

Easier said than done.

His computer wouldn't turn on.

At first Akashi assumed it perhaps ran out of battery, but even connected to the charger the device refused to show any signs of life.

Not knowing what else to do, the redhead decided to open it up and check for any possible malfunctions visible to the eye. He had, after all, an advanced understanding on technologies.

However, it seemed that he wouldn't have to look too far.

The motherboard was completely burnt.

_...That's strange. _

Akashi had bought this, mind you, expensive laptop not too long ago. No way could it had simply get damaged this quickly. Besides, the redhead had been using it almost every day and it had been working completely fine, until...

Akashi's heart froze as realization hit him.

Until he last shut it down after that disturbing bug.

Could whatever that was cause such damage? It was a bit hard to believe really. Nevertheless, Akashi couldn't come up with a better explanation.

Putting the reasons aside, his computer was now completely unusable, so he'd need to buy a new one either way.

The redhead could have simply installed the applications back to his phone if he wished to check the social media, but the need for it wasn't big enough.

What was one more day after all?

-.-

_** December 7th ** _

This time Akashi decided to buy a stationary computer. For what reason, he wasn't quite sure himself. Maybe he didn't trust laptops anymore.

' _You're being paranoid again._ '

Perhaps he really was thinking too deeply about this.

Nevertheless, just after Akashi finished setting up his new computer, he turned it on and opened the browser. He had been gone from the social media for several days now, something had bound to had happened in that time.

...No, that was merely an excuse. In reality Akashi wished to confirm by himself that _his_ account was truly finally erased.

The male's heart grew heavy at that.

He knew that should had been done for a long time, he understood. But for some reason he couldn't give out the issue to delete it. As if deep inside he was still in denial. As if by erasing _his_ account the events would be set in stone.

It was foolish, and Akashi understood that.

However, just as the male logged into his account, his phone went off.

Momentarily glancing at the caller's ID, Akashi picked it up, for some reason suddenly feeling very _irritated._ Somehow he knew what this call was going to be about.

'' _H-Hey, Akashicchi, haven't talked in awhile, huh?_ '' a voice that used to be so cheery came from the other end. '' _How are you these days?_ ''

''Fine,'' the redhead answered on instinct, though a bit colder than usual. ''For what reason are you calling, Ryouta? I'm busy.''

'' _Uh, yeah, of course. I was just, umm, wondering about something. Now don't get agitated, but did you, perhaps, recently delete his account?.._ ''

''Even if I did, that is none of your concern,'' Akashi snapped, his voice rising. ''I should have done that a long time ago, so you have no reason to question my motives.''

'' _Y-Yeah, I understand that, but--_ ''

''Did I not make myself clear?'' the redhead's tone cut through like an icy dagger, his voice venomous beyond belief. ''Do not ever again interrupt me with such--''

Akashi's words were suddenly interrupted by a melodious beep from his computer, indicating a new message. The male directed his eyes to the bright screen to see whoever was trying to reach him at this hour and what he saw made his heart stop.

He forgot how to breathe, how to think, how to feel.

The grip on his phone loosened and the device hit the ground with a soft thud.

'' _Akashicchi? Hey, Akashicchi! Is something wrong?_ ''

He couldn't hear anything. His heart was pounding against his ribcage at an abnormal rate and that dull ache from before was now cutting through his head like a flaming dagger.

He was running out of air, but _for the love of God_ he couldn't remember how to breathe.

He could only stare with his slightly darkened vision at the new opened chat.

_ December 7, 87:68 _

_ K **u** _ **r** _ o _ ** Ko  ** T _ e **t** S **u** _ **y** A:  _ Akashi-kun, why didn't you come? Everyone was waiting for you _

_ 87:69 _

** _K_ ** _ uR _ **_o_** _kO_ _T_ **e** T ** _s_ u** _y_ a: _why didn't you come_

K **_U_ ** _ r _ **_ok_ ** _ o  _ **_T_ ** e _ t _ **_sU_ ** _ y _ **_a:_ ** _ I trust you know what you're doing _

** _K_ ** _ u _ **_r_** o _k_ ** _O_** T _e_ ** _t_** _S_ u ** _y_** _A: I trust you_

K **_uRo_ ** k _ o T _ **_e_ ** _ t _ sU **_y_ ** _ a: Let's meet up, I have to talk to you _

** _K_ ** _ Ur _ **_o_ ** _ k _ **_o_ ** _ T _ **_e_ ** _ tSu _ **_y_ ** _ a:  _ _ No, messages are not enough _

** _K_ ** _ u _ **_R_ ** _ o _ **_k_ ** _ O  _ **_T_ ** _ eT _ **_su_ ** _ y _ **_a:_ ** _ messages are _

_ K _ **_u_ ** _ r _ **_ok_ ** _ O Te _ **_tS_ ** _ uy _ **_A:_ ** _ enough _

'' _ Akashicchi! What happened? Why aren't you answering?? _ ''

The loud voice of a certain blonde brought Akashi a bit out of his horrified trance, but his questions only made the whole situation worse. With a shaking hand, his eyes seemingly glued to the bright screen, the redhead reached out for his fallen phone and brought it to his ear.

''I have to go,'' the male breathed out, horror breaking through his voice.

'' _ W-What? Hey, Akashi-- _ ''

The redhead ended the call before the other could finish his sentence. 

That was the last thing he cared about at the moment.

Akashi slowly, as if not trusting his legs, stood up from his chair. He couldn't avert his eyes from the blinding screen as his body instinctively began retreating back in small steps.

His mind could not comprehend what his eyes were witnessing. 

_ That is impossible. _

_ That is physically impossible. _

_ His... His account was deleted. _

_ His account doesn't exist anymore. _

_ What's... what's with those disheveled letters? _

_ And what's... what's with that messed up time?! _

Akashi didn't feel how his legs gave out and he tumbled down the the ground, his petrified gaze never leaving those disturbing messages. His vision was slowly darkening due to the shortage of air. He still couldn't remember how to breathe correctly.

' _...That can't be a hacker. Who would go to such lengths? Go check that profile._ '

_ I am not heading anywhere near the computer. _

_ 'Nothing will bite you.' _

_ '...Besides, he's waiting for an answer.' _

_ So even you say..! Are you trying to convince me I'm going insane?! _

_ 'I am not making such assumptions. You cannot deny this is unnatural as well.' _

_ 'Go back there. Check his profile. Answer him. For now focus on these tasks.' _

Akashi sat there frozen for a few minutes before he slowly started to stand up. His legs were so heavy they felt as if they would give out at any moment. He had to focus though. He had to gather all his remaining rational thoughts and come up with his plan of action.

...What could he do though?

For Akashi to come up with a plausible solution, he needed to think up of a logical explanation for this.

And at the moment his head was empty.

Hesitantly, as if fearing the chair would break, Akashi sat down and with trembling fingers reached out for the mouse. Slowly, he navigated it to the _disheveled_ name with no picture and clicked on it.

…

Nothing.

Nothing would open.

As if he clicked on a empty spot.

Akashi tried a few times, even copied the name and tried to paste it into the search bar, but that wouldn't work. He couldn't paste it. Once again, as if he had copied nothing.

*beep beep*

_ 87:75 _

** _K_ ** _ uR _ **_o_** _kO_ _T_ **e** T ** _s_ u** _y_ a: _Akashi-kun? Please, answer me, stop ignoring me, I said I was sorry, didn't I?_

** _K_ ** _ u _ **_R_ ** _ o _ **_k_ ** _ O  _ **_T_ ** _ eT _ **_su_ ** _ y _ **_a_ _:_ ** _ answer me _

_ K _ **_u_ ** _ r _ **_ok_ ** _ O Te _ **_tS_ ** _ uy _ **_A:_ ** _ answer me _

Akashi's breathing hitched at those words. He remembered from what part of their old conversation they were. One time the redhead got so mad at _him_ that he ignored _him_ for a whole week. All _his_ calls, all _his_ messages, everything. He looked through all of them, yes, but never replied. Eventually, his anger died down and he resumed talking to _him_ as before.

Akashi never apologized though.

Such a thought clenched his heart painfully and the male had to bite his lip to keep himself under control.

What he wouldn't give to say sorry to _him_ now. To apologize for all those times he was wrong with _him_ , to ask for forgiveness. To repeat over and over again how he--

With trembling fingers, Akashi finally typed in a response.

_ 87:78 _

_**Akashi Seijuurou:** _ _Who are you?_

_ 87:79 _

** _K_ ** _ Ur _ **_o_ ** _ k _ **_o_ ** _ T _ **_e_ ** _ tSu _ **_y_ ** _ a:  _ _ You don't remember him? That's strange, considering it's you we're talking about, Akashi-kun _

_ K _ **_u_ ** _ r _ **_ok_ ** _ O Te _ **_tS_ ** _ uy _ **_A:_ ** _ You don't remember _

_** K ** u _ ** r ** _ o _ K ** o ** T _**et** Su _ ** y ** A:  _ Akashi-kun? _

What was he supposed to answer to that?

_ 87:80 _

_** Akashi Seijuurou:  ** I don't understand _

** _K_ ** _ uR _ **_o_** _kO_ _T_ **e** T ** _s_ u** _y_ a: _Akashi-kun, please_

_ K **u** _ **r** _ o _ ** Ko  ** T _ e **t** S **u** _ **y** A:  _ Akashi-kun _

** _K_ ** _ u _ **_r_** o _k_ ** _O_** T _e_ ** _t_** _S_ u ** _y_** _A:_ _Akashi-kun_

** _K_ ** _ u _ **_R_ ** _ o _ **_k_ ** _ O  _ **_T_ ** _ eT _ **_su_ ** _ y _ **_a:_ ** _ Akashi-kun _

His breathing was hitching. He could feel his body shaking.

He didn't like this.

That sickening feeling in his throat.

If  _ it  _ continued this--

_ 87:82 _

_** Akashi Seijuurou:  ** Stop saying my name _

_. _

_. _

_. _

Silence.

With a pounding heart the male waited for whatever was to come next. If truth be told, he truly wished it was nothing. However, that sickening feeling only kept growing, as if foreseeing something dreadful. He disliked that unnerving silence.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Caught completely off guard, Akashi sharply flinched and gasped, just barely not falling out of his seat. It took hi m  a couple of seconds  for realization to sink in and even more time for his wildly racing heart to calm down.

_ 'It's just the doorbell.' _

_ Who the hell would be here at this hour?! _

Slowly the redhead stood up from his chair and with slightly trembling legs began heading towards the exit of his room. However, upon seeing the pitch black darkness beyond the door, his breathing slightly quickened.

' _Get ahold of yourself._ '

Right... Akashi was not acting like himself.

Since when was Akashi Seijuurou scared of the dark?

Lightly shaking his aching head, the male went inside the corridor and turned on the nearest light switch.

_That's better._

Nevertheless, his room was almost the furthest one from the main door in this corridor. Subconsciously, Akashi began regretting such a decision. If he had chosen a closer one--

The male slapped himself angrily.

_ Idiot, there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. _

Taking in a deep breath, the redhead began walking towards the main entrance.

_ There's nothing to be afraid of, there's nothing to be afraid of, there's nothing to be afraid of-- _

Even so, Akashi couldn't shake off that uneasy feeling that he was not alone. That unnerving sensation that something is behind you, silently watching, as if waiting for your guard to be lowered.

All those stories and movies were really getting to him.

Finally Akashi arrived at his destination. Unlocking the door, he opened it into the darkness of the late evening.

My, the male certainly didn't expect such a visitor.

''Chihiro, what are you doing here?'' Akashi asked, surprise breaking through his already shaky voice.

''Trust me, I'm not here on my own free will,'' the man responded, crossing his arms and looking over the redhead from top to bottom. ''One of your friends called me earlier and begged to go check on you, since they thought something happened and I live the closest to you. Something about 'a senior's responsibility'. But I have to admit,'' Mayuzumi slightly tilted his head, his impassive gray eyes landing on the other's. ''You do look terrible. As if you've seen a ghost.''

Unconsciously, Akashi flinched at that.

''I'm fine,'' the redhead replied as firmly as he could in his current state. ''Nothing happened. I appreciate you checking on me, but please leave now.''

Mayuzumi was silent for a few moments before he sighed and lowered his arms.

''As much as I'd like to, I didn't go here at the middle of the god-damned night just for you to shut the door in my face. Besides,'' The male brushed past the other into the house and cast him a glance over his shoulder. ''You look so horrible that I wouldn't be surprised if they found you dead the next morning. And that would be even more troublesome.''

It took Akashi a couple of moments to compose himself, and when he did, something clicked inside his head and he quickly walked past his senior in order to block the hallway and prevent the other from entering any further.

''I told you, everything is fine,'' the redhead spoke a bit urgently. ''There is no need for you to be here.''

Mayuzumi was about to retort, but with the corner of his eye he caught something further into the hallway over Akashi's shoulder. The male closed his mouth and intently stared at a certain spot, his eyes narrowing.

''Akashi...'' the gray-haired male started slowly, his gaze never leaving that spot. ''Are you alone here?''

That question sent Akashi's heart racing against his ribcage. The feeling of dread slowly began seeping into his being.

''Yes, why?'' he answered immediately, his voice considerably shakier.

Mayuzumi didn't answer anything and only stood frozen for a few moments, fixedly staring at the same spot, before he pushed the smaller male out of his way and quickly began advancing further into the hallway. It took Akashi a few moments to compose himself from that question before he sharply turned around and tried to catch up to the other.

''Where are you going?'' he asked urgently, though a hint of warning was still present in his voice.

The gray-haired male kept silent, seemingly only focused on his destination, ignoring the other's questions. However, when Akashi realized where he was heading, his eyes widened.

''No, don't go there!'' he warned Mayuzumi, panic spreading inside of him. That dreadful feeling from before was already eating him away. Somehow he understood that his senior being here was a bad idea, he had to get him out as soon as possible.

However, the other didn't listen and soon enough he had entered Akashi's room, which door had been left open.

When he did, though, he stopped in his tracks.

''Oi, Akashi,'' the gray-haired male started, confusion evident in his usually impassive voice. ''What's wrong with your computer?''

Akashi didn't like that question.

Quickly, he pushed the other out of the way and walked inside himself. When his eyes landed on the said device, his breathing began wildly hitching. Horror appeared in his features as he stared wide-eyed at his computer screen, which was glitching and cracking chaotically, colorful lines and dots appearing and disappearing every moment. As if it had been fatally infected by some virus.

However, Akashi knew that wasn't the case.

Urgently, he approached the damaged device and tried to turn it off, but it was no use. Not even pulling out the wire from the outlet could shut it down. Akashi was running out of ideas, fast, and that is when his eyes caught something on the screen.

The website from before was still active. And if he focused enough, he could make out the contents of it, even if just barely.

Akashi had received four new messages.

_ 5/-9/ _

K **_uR/_ ** k _ o / _ **_e_ ** _ t _ sU _ /a:  _ _ I to/d hi/ he s/ou/d leav/, bu/ he w/n't lis/e/ _

_ / _ _ u _ _ r _ **_o_ ** _ / _ **_o_ ** _ T/tS/ _ **_y_ ** _ a: / _ _ e sh/ul/ le/ve _

K/ **_Ro_ ** _ /o T _ **_e_ ** _ / _ sU **_y/_ ** _ :  _ _ h/ s/ould leav/ _

** _K_ ** _ u/ _ **_o_** _k/_ _T_ **e** T _/_ **u** _/_ a: _hE sHouLd lEaVe_

''You have to leave,'' Akashi whispered shakily, throwing all rational thoughts out the window. It was clear as day what needed to be done.

''What?'' Mayuzumi snapped, obviously slightly on edge.

''You have to leave right now,'' the redhead repeated as he turned around, this time louder. Mayuzumi's eyes slightly widened when he saw the terror in the other's look. ''Leave this instant!''

''I don't—'' The male was cut off as Akashi quickly made his way to him and began pushing him out of the room.

''Leave! Leave! Leave!'' he kept repeating frantically, pushing the other further and further away.

Why was he so panicking Akashi couldn't quite understand.

But that awful feeling in his chest, that sickening dread, that terrible foreboding was clouding his mind. It was clouding his judgment, eating him from the inside. Akashi could only focus on the task at hand, _getting the unwanted away._

''Akashi, what's going on? What happened?'' Mayuzumi tried to get an answer from the panicking male, but the latter ignored his questions and, due to the sudden adrenaline pumping in his veins, kept successfully pushing the other to the exit.

''Leave now and never come back!'' With one last shout Akashi managed to get Mayuzumi pass the main entrance and immediately shut the door, locking it.

Listening to the banging and his name being called out by his senior, the redhead took a step back, then another, before he turned around and quickly began retreating. He didn't wish to go back to his room, he sincerely didn't. He feared what he might find inside. But nevertheless, he knew he had to.

Upon entering his room, Akashi immediately noticed that the computer's screen was black. It had finally shut down, hiding all that disturbing chaos and messages from before.

The male didn't know whether he should feel relieved and unnerved even more.

Either way, that dull aching in his head was seriously annoying him already, being probably one of the reasons why he couldn't think straight, so Akashi decided the best course of action now would be to head to bed. Not go anywhere near the computer, not try to see whether the odd damaged it received was fatal, just... try to sleep.

Just try to forget all those unnatural events and hope that the next morning they would prove to be just a terrible nightmare.

…

That night Akashi dreamed of _him_. 

It had been one of those rare nights when he didn't take his sleeping pills, so it was no wonder he had a dream.

No, maybe that wasn't quite right.

Maybe the reason why _he_ appeared in his dream tonight was because of all those disturbing messages that kept haunting him.

Either way, tonight _he_ was there.

At first it was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special. _He_ was standing in front of Akashi, talking about something with a light smile on _his_ lips and occasional chuckles. _His_ eyes were as clear and bright as ever whenever _he_ was with the redhead. So loving, so full of life. It was the perfect image of _him_ , Akashi couldn't ask for a better one.

However, something was off.

Akashi couldn't hear a single thing _he_ was saying. Or any sound for that matter. As if he had gone completely deaf. And oh how the redhead wished he could hear that angelic voice that was always like music to his ears. How he wished he could touch _him_ , caress _him_ , love _him_ one more time--

_He_ froze. Slowly, that small smile dropped and _his_ eyes widened, terror suddenly seeping into _his_ look. Akashi felt how his heart began pounding in his chest at that sight and he tried to move, tried to get to _him._ He wanted to comfort _him_ , he _badly_ wished to hold _him_ and tell _him_ everything will be okay.

And when _his_ lips started exclaiming Akashi's name, the latter began panicking.

He couldn't hear a single sound, but by the mere movements he could understand that _he_ was calling out to him.

_ He  _ even extended his arms in Akashi's direction, as if asking to be embraced, but  _for the love of God_ the redhead couldn't get to  _him_ . As if a thick barrier separated them with no way around it. That dreadful feeling kept rising in Akashi's chest, consuming him from the inside, until those shadows appeared.

Seemingly from the darkness around them, multiple tongues of dark mass, shadows of all forms began twisting around _him_ , who was still calling out his lover's name, seemingly not seeing those _things,_ which were slowly enveloping _him_ , bringing _him_ into the darkness with them. Away from Akashi.

No matter how hard he banged on the barrier, no matter how loud he shrieked, exclaimed  _his_ name, it was no use. Akashi was completely and utterly hopeless as he could only witness his lover being swallowed by the darkness, taking  _him_ away.

And in _his_ last moments, Akashi could see how tears of desperation welled up in those bright blue eyes, silently calling out to him one last time, wishing to be embraced by him, until--

With his final shriek filled with agony, Akashi woke up.

…

He could feel his pillow drenched with his own salty tears, which were still trailing down his face as he stared into the darkness of his room.

As realization slowly seeped into his consciousness, Akashi brought a fist to his mouth and bit on it painfully in order to keep the cries welling up in his throat silent. He could not, however, stop those never-ending tears, stop his body from shaking with quiet sobs.

Oh, how wonderful it would have been if that dream was merely a horrific nightmare.

Unfortunately...

…

_ It was reality. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I'm very sorry for the shorter chapter! The next one will be much longer. But you see, I just had to end it where I did, there was no way around it, sorry again.
> 
> And second, thank you all for your support! I really really appreciate it! I may be a bit late to replay though, sorry for that!
> 
> Oh, and do check the note at the end please.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy (if you're an evil person that is hehe) this chapter!

_**December 8th** _

Now, Akashi was never one to believe in the paranormal. He was never that person that shrieked during horror movies or shivered while listening to scary stories or shook with fear upon entering a supposed haunted house. No, Akashi was always the cool, composed member of the group, that always tried to find an explanation for everything. That _could_ seemingly always explain everything. The male did not believe in things he couldn't. So naturally paranormal fell into that category.

That was _one_ of the reasons why Akashi had such a hard time coping with these events.

The next day he decided to bring his once again burnt motherboard along with his computer to a technician to find the reason for such damage. The redhead could not simply accept that it was caused by unnatural things.

The technician told him that his motherboard was burnt due to a high electric discharge. However, he said that it was very odd for such a new and high-model computer to suffer such damage.

Unnatural.

And when Akashi mentioned all that cracking and glitching the man simply stared at him strangely and assured him that, apart from the burnt motherboard, his computer was in perfect shape. Absolutely nothing was wrong with it.

That left Akashi all that more uneasy.

He couldn't help but recall all the unexplainable things that happened in the past week.

Those unnerving messages from _his_ account.

That bug with _his_ page.

That cracking.

Burnt motherboards.

Messages from _his non-existing account._

_Messages making sense._

_That disturbing cracking and glitching._

_And that dreadful, foreboding feeling that is always there whenever I'm home._

None of it made sense.

And it make Akashi's head spin.

He felt like throwing up.

The male grunted in pain as he clenched his aching head.

This was bad for his health, both physical and mental.

* * *

 

This time Akashi decided to replace his computer with a cheaper one. There was always that possibility that something was physically wrong concerning the electricity in his room, so it would have been foolish to risk another expensive computer being damaged.

Nevertheless, that one part of his mind kept nagging him about that not being the case. About him understanding that, but simply refusing to accept.

Akashi only shove those thoughts deeper.

He'll feint ignorance for as long as possible.

Otherwise the male feared he might go insane.

Once home, Akashi set on yet again setting up his new computer. Perhaps he should contact an electrician to check the outlets in his room, but a foreboding feeling kept whispering to him that he shouldn't bring anyone into his home anymore. As if they were _unwanted._ However, the redhead decided that if there's another electric discharge, he'll have no choice but to call in a professional.

After finally setting up his computer, Akashi once again left. Like mentioned before, he tried to stay away from his house as much as possible, especially after recent events. And that godforsaken nightmare... It had been a long time since he had dreamed anything remotely similar, and this particular one badly shook him up. All day the male was in such a gloomy mood that no one would have been surprised if they learnt he fell into heavy illness on anything like that.

That wasn't far from the truth.

However, Akashi still with every single tint of strength left inside of him tried to stay away from that seeping in darkness, to keep it under control. He managed to do so all year, so what was so different now?

_So many things._

Nevertheless, after mindlessly wandering through the busy street until deep nightfall, Akashi knew he had to turn back. He had to head back.

If he could, he would continue walking aimlessly for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.

So, with a heavy head, Akashi slowly began returning back to his home, back to his room.

Perhaps he should simply stay away from that particular area?

No... That also wasn't an option. Practically all of his life, or what was left of it, was in his room. Besides, he couldn't act childishly forever.

* * *

 

_Maybe I should listen to some music._

That wasn't such a bad idea. It had been quite awhile since the male last indulged himself in the wonders of music that on so many occasions proved to be a successful mean of escaping reality. And that was the thing Akashi wished for the most.

Perhaps that really wasn't such a bad idea.

If truth be told... The redhead hoped that he might manage to fall asleep while listening to music and that could somehow grant him a dreamless night. He had run out of sleeping pills, so he had to get a bit creative.

God forbid he has another nightmare like that again.

Turning off the lights and without getting ready too much besides stripping into his night attire Akashi dropped onto his bed on his back, phone and earphones in hand. The redhead plugged them in and randomly selected a song as long as it was _loud._ The louder the better. That way he wouldn't be able to focus on his thoughts. Sure, that might prevent him from falling asleep easily, but at least it will keep him away from reality.

The other reason why the male might had trouble sleeping like this was that strange drop of temperature in his room. However, somehow it was oddly soothing, so he didn't bother to increase the heat.

With blasting music in his ears, Akashi placed an arm over his eyes and released a deep sigh. He felt so, _so_ tired. Falling into a dark oblivion seemed _so_ tempting, _so_ welcoming. It promised _so_ much, but, most important of all, _it promised freedom,_ even if it were a false one.

' _That does sound tempting. However, you have to remember the reason why you must alive._ '

_That reason meant nothing. It meant nothing anymore._

' _You can't-_ '

The voice in his head was interrupted by the music suddenly stopping half-way through the song. However, almost immediately afterwards it started from the beginning, but stopped again and after a moment started again. It kept repeating and repeating. As if on a loop.

For some reason that deeply unnerved the male.

He removed the arm from his eyes and glanced at the device in his hand. And indeed, the music kept stopping and starting from the beginning over and over again. Perhaps his media player was broken? Or his earphones somehow messed it up?

So, with that thought, Akashi pulled the cord out and tried to plug it in again, but the moment it made contact with his phone, sparks flew out of the small hole accompanied by a cracking sound that made the male instinctively drop the device further onto the bed. Immediately, the redhead sat up and stared wide-eyed at his phone, innocently laying not too far from him.

If truth be told, that seriously startled Akashi.

Slowly, he extended his hand and carefully took the device in order to examine it. Looking closer, the male noted that the place where the earphones should be plugged in was all scorched, as if...

_Did it just receive an electric discharge?.._

But... How was that-

Akashi's thoughts were cut off by a melodious, quiet beep that he knew all too well.

And that sent his heart racing.

The redhead slowly turned his head to the source of that sound, only to have his eyes widen.

He could have sworn he had not turned on his computer.

But not only was the device's screen dimly illuminating the dark room, a specific website _that should not be on_ was being displayed in all it's beauty.

In all that shock with his phone acting strange, Akashi failed to notice that detail. But now that he had, all those troubling thoughts from before came crashing back at full force.

After a good minute of staring at the bright screen, his heart thumping loudly against his ribcage, the redhead slowly began getting out of bed. Another beep resonated through the room as he was making his way to the computer, which made the male flinch and momentarily pause. Taking a deep breath, he continued and soon he had sat down on his chair as a third beep rang.

Just as he had feared, he had received three of _those messages._

_December 8, 93:65_

_K **u**_ **r** _o_ **Ko** T _e **t** S **u**_ **y** A: _Akashi-kun, I told you that wasn't my fault_

_93:66_

**_K_** _uR_ ** _o_** _kO_ _T_ **e** T ** _s_ u** _y_ a: _my fault_

_93:67_

K ** _U_** _r_ ** _ok_** _o_ ** _T_** e _t_ ** _sU_** _y_ ** _a:_** _I'm sorry, Akashi-kun, okay?_

Another message.

K ** _uRo_** k _o T_ ** _e_** _t_ sU ** _y_** _a:_ _I'm sorry_

 ** _K_** _u_ **R** _o_ ** _k_** _O_ ** _T_** e _T_ ** _su_** _y_ **a:** _Please don't be mad at me_

_D_ _on't be mad at you..?_

He was apologizing.

Why... why were such words clenching Akashi's heart so painfully? Why was there a heavy lump forming in his throat? Why were his eyes stinging so much?

Akashi brought his fist to his mouth and bit on it roughly as a muffled, shaky cry escaped his throat. His vision was slowly clouding from the unshed tears as he typed in a response without thinking about it at all.

_93:68_

_**Akashi Seijuurou:** I'm not_

_**Akashi Seijuurou:** I'm not mad at you_

_God, I'm not and never again will be mad at you._

A pause. A painfully long, silent pause.

Then, the response.

_93:70_

K _ **u**_ r _o **kO** Te_ **t** _S **u**_ **y** _A: Don't call me princess, Akashi-kun, that sounds embarrassing_

 ** _K_** _u_ **R** _o_ ** _k_** _O_ ** _T_** e _T_ ** _su_** _y_ **a:** _call me princess_

 ** _K_** _u_ ** _r_** o _k_ ** _O_** T _e_ ** _t_** _S_ u ** _y_** _A:_ _Akashi-kun, please_

K ** _U_** _r_ ** _ok_** _o_ ** _T_** e _t_ ** _sU_** _y_ ** _a:_** _call me princess_

 ** _K_** _Ur_ **o** _k_ ** _o_** T ** _e_** _tSu_ ** _y_** _a:_ _That's just like you, isn't it, Akashi-kun?_

_T_ _hat's just like you..._

…

_''Seriously, Akashi-kun, you need to stop. I'm not a woman, why do you keep calling me that?''_

_''…''_

_''No, I don't like it, that sounds very embarrassing.''_

_''…''_

_''...I really can't change you, can I, Akashi-kun? For some reason I'm glad though.''_

…

A quiet, husky cry left his lips as salty tears finally began trailing down his face. The male brought his hands to the sides of his head and gripped his red locks tightly, though no pain reached him. Akashi could only focus on that gashing, heavily bleeding wound in his heart, which was escaping in the form of clear, never-ending tears from his wide eyes, and those chocking, quiet cries, not allowing the male to breathe. He was slowly running out of air, but he did not focus on that. That agonizing pain his chest was too excruciating. His carefully built up walls were slowly crumbling as he kept re-reading _those words_.

''Princess...'' a quiet whisper left the male's shaky lips. That only made him grip his hair tighten as the pain in his chest intensified. ''Princess... My princess...''

That was how Akashi used to call _him_ on certain occasions. Oh how he adored this nickname. And seeing how _he_ always got irritated or displeased about it only made the redhead want to tease _him_ further. To keep addressing _him_ as _his princess_.

Akashi could not take this anymore. He felt as if his body, his heart was being ripped apart.

He could not physically take this any longer.

The redhead felt how his vision was slowly darkening, that excruciating pain never leaving his soul though. It would forever remain there, waiting for more opportunities to torment its host.

To remind him of all the mistakes he made and all those times he can't get back.

Akashi distantly felt how his body hit the cold ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it has come to my attention that some of you may be misunderstanding a certain thing, which is very normal actually. It may seem to some of you that Akashi is being OOC. Now, let me explain about that. If you understand what is going on already, you may skip this. It will take awhile, sorry.
> 
> When you start writing a fanfiction, yes, you take already existing characters, but, the way I see it, you merely create a copy of them and shape them according to different kind of situations. However, a writer must always take in account how those specific situations would realistically affect a human, since even if that character isn't yours, it's still human and its functions work the same. Now, let's take Akashi for example. If the Akashi in my story would be the same Akashi from KnB, then yes, he may be OOC, since he would be much braver and have more rational thoughts. He certainly wouldn't get freaked out so quickly. But now let's look at the Akashi from my story. First of all, remember, that this Akashi suffered a great loss. His lover died completely unexpectedly, so naturally that shook him up a lot. Now, remember the first chapter and what Midorima had said: Akashi hadn't taken any time to mourn. He didn't talk to anyone, he didn't vividly show his grief, but instead kept all those negative emotions and thoughts completely to himself. So, based on human psychology, that affected Akashi deeply. It is incredibly unhealthy to keep all of that immense grief to himself. Akashi's mental state slowly began worsening by the day due to that. So, knowing that, it's now clear that the Akashi at the beginning of my story is already psychologically ill, his mental state is already weak. Now, any person would definitely have a negative reaction if their dead lover suddenly started sending messages to them. They'd write it off at first of course, just how Akashi did, but with time their resolve would start crumbling. However, that is if talking about a sane, healthy person. Akashi is not. He is already quite damaged, so such a dreadful experience affected him much more, and much more than it would have had if Akashi had been the one from KnB. So naturally he does seem OOC if you would compare him with Akashi from the anime, but if you take all these points into consideration, then this Akashi would seem like not a realistic human being otherwise. Of course, I could have taken a different way, but I didn't. I hope this clears up that up.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

_**December 9th** _

''...shi... kashi... Oi, Akashi!''

The redhead slowly opened his heavy eyelids as that distant voice began reaching his consciousness. At first his vision was blurry and he couldn't make out a single thing apart from that strange blob of green. Slowly, however, his sight began clearing and after awhile he could identify the person kneeling down above him.

''What happened, Akashi? Why are you on the floor?'' the man asked with a frown on his lips, concern managing to break through his stern voice.

''Shintarou?... What are you...'' the redhead weakly began, trying to remember anything that could have led him to this situation. When realization finally, yet slowly dawned on him, the male's eyes widened.

''What time is it?'' he asked urgently, groggily trying to sit up.

''It's one pm,'' Midorima answered as he closely observed the other's efforts.

''The computer...'' Akashi murmured, glancing up. It was turned off, but that didn't reassure him one bit. With difficulty he crawled under his desk and quickly unplugged it from the outlet.

''What are you doing?'' the green-haired male asked, sounding taken aback.

''The computer... It has to be turned off...'' he kept mumbling, as if unaware of the other's presence or still too out of it to care.

''Why?''

''Why...?'' Akashi repeated distantly, finally turning his head to the confused male's direction. He blinked a few times before a frown formed on his lips. ''Shintarou, what are you doing here?''

''I should be the one asking you that question,'' Midorima replied, helping the other to stand up. ''What happened, Akashi? I've heard you've been acting strangely these past few days.''

''I... What did you hear?'' the redhead asked as he allowed his friend to lead him to his bed, still trying to clear out his dazed mind. And that headache was not helping at all.

''Well, for one, Kise called, sounding very worried, and told how he thought something happened to you, so he reached out to one of your... accomplices I suppose to ask him to check on you, but you seemingly freaked out and threw him out when he came. Is that true?'' Midorima asked seriously as the other was laying down. ''You also hadn't been picking up your phone for two days and now I find you laying on the ground unconscious. Something is going on, Akashi, that's clear as day.''

''That's... I... How did you get in anyway, Shintarou?'' Akashi murmured, getting into a half-sitting position on the pillows.

''I contacted your head maid and asked for her to let me in. Don't turn the subject away, Akashi.''

''Argh, God...'' the redhead grunted in pain, closing his eyes and bringing two fingers to his temple in order to massage it. ''There is nothing going on, Shintarou. Now please, leave me be. My head feels as if it's going to split up, I don't need any more distractions.''

''Akashi...'' Midorima sighed and knelt down next to the bed. ''I've known you for ten years now and it's only the second time I'm seeing you look so terrible. I can tell something is wrong. Perhaps I could help you?''

_I sincerely doubt that._

' _But there is no foreboding feeling this time. Midorima's presence doesn't seem too unwanted. Maybe because he was his friend?_ '

_That's... No, stop talking like that!_

''Shintarou, leave me alone,'' Akashi spoke through clenched teeth, not opening his eyes. ''I  _seriously_ don't need any more trouble. My hands are full as it is.''

''...Is it somehow related to  _him_?''

The redhead's breathing hitched as his heart skipped a beat. Being reminded of  _those_ events was the last thing Akashi wanted. No, he  _couldn't_ be reminded.

_God, where are those pills when you need them?_

Taking the smaller male's silence as confirmation, a worried expression crept onto the other's face. He wouldn't usually do something like this, but if what was bothering Akashi was concerning  _him_ , then even Midorima had to do something.

''Don't keep it all to yourself, Akashi. Perhaps we could come to a solution if you would tell me what's bothering you.''

Akashi couldn't contain all those emotions any longer. They were driving him mad.

''I... I can't take this anymore, Shintarou,'' the redhead murmured hoarsely, his voice shaking terribly. He bent one of his legs on the bed as he painfully bit his lower lip in that short pause. ''I just c-can't. I feel as if I'm going crazy,'' Akashi reopened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, bringing his free fist to his mouth as quiet whisper left his lips. ''Perhaps I really am becoming insane.''

''Explain, Akashi, I can't understand anything.''

''You wouldn't believe me even if I told you,'' the smaller male shook his head weakly.

''Try me.''

''You'll just say I'm going insane. And that won't help me.''

''Akashi, have more faith in me.''

''...Fine,'' the redhead murmured, too exhausted to argue. Besides, it was obvious how this was going to end. Midorima will simply call him crazy and call a psychiatrist. Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Perhaps that doctor would give him some pills, so if he overdosed them- ''Would you believe me if I told you that  _he_ started messaging me?''

When that sentence left his lips if sounded so  _wrong._

There was a long pause as Midorima processed what Akashi just said before he slowly replied, sounding very unsure.

''That is a bit hard to believe.''

''Of course it is, because it's impossible,'' the redhead mumbled quietly, his voice trembling. He closed his eyes once again and placed a hand over them. ''Just tell me I became insane and be done with it. Or lock me up in a mental hospital. Do what you want, I honestly don't care anymore as long as it ends.''

Midorima seemed to think over Akashi's words carefully for several seconds. While the most logical assumption would be that the redhead had in fact lost his mind, Midorima didn't want to write it off so easily. There was this... uneasy feeling in this room that made the male want to believe the other's words.

''...Would it be possible to show those messages to me?'' Midorima finally asked.

Akashi lifted his hand from his eyes and reopened them, glancing at the other a bit surprised. Then again, it shouldn't be so surprising. Who wouldn't be interested in his claim?

''I... I suppose, but...''

_Perhaps I shouldn't push my luck too far._

However, a sudden pang of fear struck Akashi. His eyes widened in terror as he sharply sat up, gripping the sides of his head roughly, hitched breaths leaving his parted, shaking lips.

''No, no, I can't,'' he began mumbling, his voice cracking. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, a crazed from horror look in them. Words like spilling beans left his mouth without him even realizing it. ''I can't turn it on, he might write me again, I can't, I can't, I don't want that, I don't want him writing me again, I can't take this, I can't take this, I can't take this-''

''Akashi!'' Midorima loudly cut him off as he quickly gripped the other's shoulders and shook him. ''Calm down, get ahold of yourself!''

The redhead stopped his nonsensical rambling as his friend's words reached his dazed mind. He had to control himself, he couldn't break down like this. Nothing good will come out of him continuing to act crazy. Besides, he was not alone.

''...I-I'm sorry,'' Akashi mumbled through frequent hitched pants. He loosened his grip on his red locks and slowly lowered his hands to the sides. The male closed his eyes and tried taking deep breaths in the hopes of calming down.

''This is worse than I expected,'' Midorima murmured, concern breaking through his mask. ''I understand that you're distressed, but you'll need to show me the source of that so I could help you, understand?''

''Yes, I do,'' the redhead breathed out, trying to control his trembling voice. He took one more deep breath and exhaled before reopening his eyes. ''Okay. Hand me my phone from the counter.''

Nodding, Midorima did as told, but before he gave the other the device, he noticed the burnt area.

''What happened to your phone?'' he inquired puzzled. It was an odd damage after all.

''Don't know, don't want to think about it,'' Akashi murmured in response, getting the device out of the other's hands.

All he had to do was to install a simple program. Nothing too difficult. Nothing would happen. Besides, it was daytime. He never got any of those messages when the sun was out. So there was nothing to worry about.

Nevertheless, Akashi hesitated for a few moments before opening the app. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes momentarily before clicking on it.

With trembling fingers he opened  _that_ chat-room and handed the device to Midorima.

''And just so you know, that account is non-existent,'' he said in a hushed voice, not looking at the other.

The green-haired male glanced at him oddly before shifting his eyes to the screen.

What he saw made a him frown deeply.

Akashi had been serious – for the past week he had been receiving very strange messages from an account that didn't seem to be existing. And the content was, indeed, extremely uneasy. No wonder Akashi was so distressed. Anyone would be. And gived Akashi's already unstable mental state...

''This is very unnerving,'' Midorima commented quietly. ''What is the chance that this could be a bug or a hacker?''

''You tell me yourself whether this seems like a bug,'' Akashi whispered, his voice miserable. ''And I doubt any hacker would be able of such... of such...''

Midorima remained quiet for a few moments, continuing to read over those disturbing messages. If truth be told, on any other occasion he would try to look for other possible logical explanations for such an occurrence, but this case was different. From the moment the male entered this manor something seemed off. That feeling intensified when he got to this room. It had this strange, uneasy aura that sent a cold shiver down his spine. Something seemed so  _wrong_ that the moment Midorima entered this room he immediately wished to leave it. This feeling could drive anyone insane.

''Akashi,'' the male slowly started, lifting his concerned eyes to the other. ''I think you should leave this place as soon as possible. Something doesn't seem right here.''

The moment those words left Midorima's mouth Akashi felt how immense dread bloomed inside of him. That  _terrible_ foreboding feeling was back at full force and it was  _choking_ him. He had to do something, this could end horribly otherwise, he just knew it.

''No, no, I won't,'' the redhead choked out a bit louder than needed. His eyes were once again wide, a clouded, crazed look in them. Be began backing away on his bed as words continued spilling from his mouth unconsciously. ''I can't leave, I can't, you don't understand. No, you must go now. Leave right now, leave. He'll get upset if you don't, he doesn't want you here anymore, leave this instant!''

Midorima was right – anyone could get insane under these circumstances. And Akashi was on the brink of it.

However... The male could feel that intensified dark aura in the room, a sense of danger entering him. He could understand from where Akashi's crazed commands were coming. The sense of dread was indeed incredibly heavy.

Nevertheless, Midorima couldn't just leave Akashi here like this. The male seemed as if he was close to breaking. He critically needed to leave this place and this atmosphere as quickly as possibly.

''Alright, alright, I'll leave,'' Midorima spoke slowly, standing up. ''But I'm taking you with me.''

With those words he quickly grabbed the smaller male and threw him over his shoulder before the redhead could understand what was happening. When he did, however, they were already by the door, and he, horror-struck, began wildly dashing in the hopes of getting out of the other's tight grip.

''No, release me! Let go of me right now!'' he kept yelling as Midorima was jogging through the hallway to the main entrance. However, the green-haired male had no intentions of complying. His goal was now to leave this manor as quickly as possible. Perhaps outside Akashi's mind would clear.

Midorima was so glad when he finally reached the doors and, without hesitation, left this gloomy household. The rather chilly winter breeze and the bright sunlight greeted them, for what the male could sigh in relief as he slowed his pace and finally set the struggling redhead to the ground.

''We're out, Akashi, you can calm down now.''

It took a few moments for those words to sink in in Akashi's mind. It was still quite dazed from before, but now those clouds were slowly clearing away. After a few seconds his rigid pants slowed down to a more-or-less steady breathing and that crazed look washed away from his heterochromatic eyes.

Fresh air did wonders it seemed.

''How are you feeling now?'' Midorima asked cautiously, eyeing the other closely for any kind of signs of pain.

''I'm... fine,'' the redhead breathed out, blinking a few times to clear out his vision. He lifted his wide eyes to meet the other's green ones, though immediately afterwards hissed in pain and instinctively gripped his red locks. ''Just... my head...''

''I see, we need to get you some medicine,'' the green-haired male nodded. ''Can you walk?''

''Yes, I think so,'' Akashi murmured and tried to take step, but if not for Midorima's quick reaction he would have hit the cold ground. He swiftly caught the weak redhead and threw one of his arms over his shoulder.

''Right... Well, my car is just up ahead,'' Midorima announced as both of them began slowly walking down the concrete staircase. ''Like it or not, you're staying with me for a couple of days, at least until you get back on your feet.''

''How frightening it is to see you so caring, Shintarou.''

''It's not like I have a choice,'' he snapped in return, irritated by the other's remark. ''We'll continue this conversation when we're further away from his place.''

Akashi remained silent. He simply didn't know what to say.

But now that he was out in this fresh winter day, he felt how glad he was that Midorima came and forcefully got him out of that forsaken place.

* * *

_**December 14th** _

''Okay, now listen. I think it's time we discuss what happened.''

Akashi's grip on the warm mug tightened as he closed his eyes for a moment and slightly lowered his head.

''What exactly do you wish to talk about?''

Midorima exhaled and subconsciously fixed his spectacles.

''I've been thinking about this whole situation for awhile and I'd like to share my thoughts with you. So, let's make an assumption, I repeat,  _assumption,_ that whatever is happening to you isn't natural or could be explained by the laws of physics.''

''You mean the paranormal?'' Akashi murmured quietly, not looking up at the other.

''Yes, let's talk under that assumption. It's a good idea to form some sort of theory, any kind, and then try to explain certain events. At least it's better than thinking about this blindly. Now, hear me out and I'll want you to tell me whether my thoughts could be correct under such an assumption,'' Midorima intertwined his hands on the table and looked at the redhead seriously. ''Would it be possible that... when  _he_... left, he had a strong enough regret that would keep him bounded to Earth, and specifically you?''

Akashi took a shaky breath and closed his trembling eyelids before he quietly responded.

''That is a possibility.''

A pause.

''I did some research and learnt that when the spirit of a deceased, that left the world with a heavy regret, might not leave the world of the living until it is appeased. And I fear... that if my theory is correct... such a thing happened to  _him_. And to you.''

A hitched breath left the redhead's lips and his knuckles on the mug turned white at those words. He painfully bit his lower lip to the point of breaking the soft, though slightly chapped tissue.

Akashi knew what Midorima was going to say next even before the other opened his mouth.

''And if that is the case, I'm afraid you will have no choice but to find out why  _he_ is so distressed and change that.''

_...Of course._

_Of course I'll have to do that._

_Not only because I doubt I would ever be able to sleep again otherwise..._

_...but also to finally put him to rest._

Akashi's throat clenched painfully with unshed tears.

''But, the most important question is, will you be strong enough to accomplish such a task?''

The redhead lifted his distressed eyes to the other.

''If this is, if fact, the work of the paranormal, I doubt those disturbing occurrences will go away on their own and will most likely only increase in caliber. Do you think your mental state would handle that if that were to happen?'' Midorima asked seriously.

Akashi honestly didn't know.

He said so to the other.

How could he answer such a question after all? How could anyone?

''Of course,'' the green-haired male sighed heavily and stood up from his chair. ''But that is only under the assumption that whatever happening isn't normal. And the chance of that is very slim. Nevertheless,'' Midorima went to the counter and retrieved two small bottles of presumably medical pills. ''I managed to acquire some sedatives and sleeping pills for you. Use them wisely and  _do not overdose them_. I'll be calling each day to check on you.''

''I do not need a babysitter,'' Akashi muttered, taking the bottles from the other.

''You seem very unstable at the moment, so it's better safe than sorry. I'd also advice you to bring back your maids-''

''No,'' the redhead sharply cut him off and cast a death glare at his friend. ''No one is entering that house besides myself.''

Midorima remained silent for a few moments before he deeply sighed. When Akashi was this stubborn, it was impossible to change his mind.

''Alright, do as you wish.''

''Then, I'll be taking my leave now,'' the redhead announced as he stood up. ''Thank you for your hospitality, but I must be on my way now.''

''Will you head back home now?'' Midorima asked, following the other to the hall.

Akashi stopped putting on his borrowed coat from the green-haired male (neither of them were too enthusiastic of heading back to the Akashi manor to get the redhead's winter clothes or a change for that matter, so Midorima lent some of his own, even though they were a bit too big for the other) momentarily. Without glancing at him, Akashi spoke.

''No, I'll visit  _his_ mother first.''

''...Oh. Why so suddenly?''

The redhead sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

''Because... if your theory is, by some chance, correct, I may find a lead to this mystery there,'' Akashi said in a slightly quieter voice than usually as he continued dressing himself. He dropped the bottles of pills into his coat's pocket before he continued. ''Besides, it's been a long time since we last met. I've been acting a bit unfair, don't you think? She is... was, after all,  _his_ mother. I shouldn't cut off all contact with her.''

''I suppose that's true,'' Midorima murmured, crossing his arms. ''Tell me later how it goes.''

''Right...''

With a couple of quiet good-byes, Akashi left his friend's apartment.

* * *

If truth be told, here was one of the last places Akashi wished to be. No, he had absolutely no desire to be in front of  _his_ old house. Too many memories. Too many formerly pleasant, now painfully distant memories. How many times had he been here? How many times had he driven here to pick  _him_ up for various reasons, mostly dates? How many times had he brought  _him_ back and, occasionally, when  _his_ mother wasn't home, stayed overnight? How many times had he visited  _him_ here, for the most random reasons, such as ' _I missed you_ '?

_Fuck, I can't._

With a slightly trembling hand Akashi took out that bottle of sedatives, quickly opened it and dropped one pill into his throat. If he was going to speak to  _his_ mother and to most likely relive some heart-clenching memories, he'll need it.

Taking a deep breath, the redhead approached the front door and, after hesitating for a moment, knocked on it.

After about half a minute muffled footsteps could have been heard from the other side and soon after a lock clinked and the door was opened by middle-aged short woman with  _the same goddamn hair color._

''Good evening, Kuroko-san,'' Akashi bowed politely to the stunned woman. ''I apologize for coming without a notice.''

''A-Akashi-kun, what a pleasant surprise,'' she spoke, shock breaking through her voice, though she nonetheless tried to form a small smile.  _Is it really, though?_ ''It's alright, please, come in.''

''Sorry for the intrusion,'' the redhead murmured as he entered the oh-so familiar household. However, he tried to keep his emotions at bay to his best efforts, that wasn't what he came here for after all.

After he undressed his coat and took off his shoes, the woman led him to the living room, even though he knew the path like his own five fingers.

' _You're getting distracted again._ '

''Would you like some tea or coffee, Akashi-kun?'' the woman asked as the redhead took a seat on the sofa.

''No, thank you, I'm fine,'' he declined politely. Honestly, he didn't wish to be here longer than needed.

''Okay then,'' she nodded and sat on the other side of the couch. To any person with a pair of eyes it was obvious that she was quite on edge. ''So, what brings you here so unexpectedly, Akashi-kun?''

The said redhead remained silent for a few moments and only thought about his next words.

This will not be easy.

''If truth be told,'' the male started slowly, averting his eyes to the small coffee table in front of them. ''I did not come here on pleasant business.''

''I figured as much.''

_Of course she has. She's his mother after all._

''Then I'll get right to it,'' Akashi paused for a moment. ''However, I apologize, but I'll have to ask of you not to ask any questions regarding my own. I understand that such a request might be difficult, but,'' The redhead lifted his distressed eyes to the woman. ''I sincerely wouldn't be able to explain. Not now at least. Please, you would help me greatly.''

 _His_ mother didn't answer anything immediately and only looked over the male in front of her sickly white as a sheet of paper skin, that frail frame, those chapped lips and those suffering, pleading eyes...

''...Okay,'' she finally said quietly. ''I'll try to help to my best abilities.''

''Thank you,'' Akashi breathed out and closed his eyes. The woman could see how those eyelids of his trembled oh-so slightly, indicating great distress.

He hadn't healed at all it seemed.

''Around that time, a year ago,'' the redhead started and she immediately felt how her heart already clenched painfully. ''Do you remember... T-Tetsuya acting somehow strange? Not like himself? Regarding, I don't know, university, work, me, anything. Even the smallest of detail would be of great help,'' Akashi finished with a slightly trembling voice, reopening his eyes and looking at the woman in front of him. How long had it been since that name left his lips?.. Quite awhile. It was incredibly taxing after all, he preferred not mentioning  _him_  after all. But out of respect for  _his_ mother, the male pushed over his boundaries.

The tealnette stared at the male for a good minute, thinking about his words. Of course, all those memories were unbelievably painful, stabbing her already frail heart, but there was obviously something wrong that would make Akashi suffer so much, so she had to try her best to help him however she could. And while curiosity was eating her alive, she respected the redhead's wishes and didn't ask anything. He sincerely loved  _him_ so much after all.

''...I... suppose he did seem a bit... off for those few weeks leading up to...'' she started quietly, trailing off. Composing herself, she continued after a moment. ''He seemed so... upset. At first he refused to talk, but one evening I managed to get out of him about his troubles. He said that... he was fearing that your relationship was breaking apart. He told me that for the past few weeks you had grown colder, less affectionate, less... loving. I don't know what exactly was happening between you two, but he was fearing you might leave him soon.''

... _What?_

_What?_

_No_

_No, what?_

_I would have never..._

_God..._

Akashi never thought  _he_ took his behavior like  _that._ He hadn't even realized  _he_ was so distressed about it. Last year's December was an incredibly difficult month. His father's company was facing critical hardships at that time and it pulled the redhead into that whole mess as well. With only a couple of hours of sleep each night and that never-ending paperwork on top of his studies exhausted Akashi to no end. He had become like a zombie, irritated at everything, so naturally that somehow affected their relationship. But Akashi's mistake was not telling  _him_ about his troubles, which led to such misunderstandings. He simply didn't want to bother  _him_  with his problems.

Never did such a thought of leaving  _him_  cross his mind in those four years of being together.

''I would have never...'' Akashi finally spoke in a hushed voice, eyes wide. ''There was a misunderstanding, I would have never even thought about-''

''I know, it's alright,'' the tealnette interrupted him with a shake of her head. ''I understand, you don't need to explain yourself. When I saw you so... devastated after the news were spread, I knew that you- Anyway,'' she lightly coughed and continued. ''But... I will never forget that last evening. It was quite late when I noticed him getting ready to head out. When I asked where he was going, he cast me this bright smile and said that he was going to run one last errand before the next day. He said that... everything will be okay tomorrow. He said that tomorrow you'll come back to him. Those were his last words before he left and never came back.''

…

_God, I really can't take this._

_Fuck._

_My head..._

_I have to get out._

_I don't want to be here anymore._

_Goddammit, my head is going to split up._

''Thank you for everything, Kuroko-san,'' Akashi spoke after a long pause, his voice blank. His eyes were telling a different story though. ''I'll be on my way then. Thank you again.''

With that he stood up and politely bowed to the tealnette. He had to get out of his this house as quickly as possible, so he wasted no time in that. He couldn't stay there any longer.

_Fuck. This seems like a fucking tragedy movie rather than real life. It just keeps getting worse by the fucking minute._

_I really can't do this anymore_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, things will start getting interesting from now own. I strongly advice you don't read the remaining chapters somewhere in a crowded or a bright place, seriously. I didn't work this much for nothing after all!

For some reason Akashi's house felt ten times darker when he finally reached it. 

Or perhaps that was just the male's imagination.

' _You're being paranoid again._ '

Of course he was.

Would Akashi be a normal human being if after all that talk with Midorima and _his_ mother he wouldn't be distressed?

' _You need to calm down, get ahold of yourself. Everything will be okay._ '

Of course it will be.

' _Okay, then let's remember what you must do now._ '

_ I have to... I have to test Midorima's theory. And if it proves to be correct... I have to find out for what reason he left his house that day. _

' _Correct. But remember to stay calm._ '

Easier said than done.

…

His room was cold. Why was it so cold? The rest of the house wasn't after all.

Akashi quickly flickered on the light and it rather dimly illuminated the chilly area. The redhead's eyes fell on the lifeless computer and afterwards his phone, innocently laying on his disheveled bed. He swiftly made his way to the device and checked its power.

Of course, it had run out.

After the redhead had connected the charger to his phone, his attention once again shifted to the computer on his desk. Honestly, he wished to stay away from that thing as much as possible, but he understood that such a thing wasn't an option. He'd have to face his fears sooner or later.

Besides, it had been several days. Perhaps that bug (or whatever was haunting him) had disappeared in that time.

With a heavy heart Akashi approached the device and plugged it into the outlet. Taking a seat, he turned it on and patiently waited. 

The computer started normally, like it was supposed to. Everything seemed the usual. Akashi opened up the browser and entered that damned website's address. He hadn't gotten any new messages, but the redhead knew that wouldn't be the case for long. However, tonight he had other plans.

_ December 14, 79:98 _

_** Akashi Seijuurou:  ** Hello? _

A minute passed. Another one. After the third one Akashi was foolishly beginning to hope that perhaps no one would answer him this time. Foolishly.

*beep beep*

_ 80:63 _

_ K **u** _ **r** _ o _ ** Ko  ** T _ e **t** S **u** _ **y** A:  _ Akashi-kun _

The redhead's heartbeat immediately accelerated at that. With already trembling fingers he slowly typed in a single word.

_ 80:64 _

_** Akashi Seijuurou:  ** Tetsuya? _

No response.

A minute.

Another one.

Did he mess up?

*beep beep*

_ 80:68 _

** _K_ ** _ u _ **_r_** o _k_ ** _O_** T _e_ ** _t_** _S_ u ** _y_** _A:_ _Akashi-kun, why did you do that_

** _K_ ** _ uR _ **_o_** _kO_ _T_ **e** T ** _s_ u** _y_ a: _it's your fault_

It could now crop out words without resending the actual message first it seemed.

That ( _ and those words _ ) unnerved Akashi greatly.

** _K_ ** _ Ur _ **o** _k_ ** _o_** T ** _e_** _tSu_ ** _y_** _a:_ _it's your fault_

K **_U_ ** _ r _ **_ok_ ** _ o  _ **_T_ ** e _ t _ **_sU_ ** _ y _ **_a:_ ** _ Akashi-kun _

A  pause.

The redhead could feel that ache in his head slowly worsening. He was being blamed for something. He was being blamed by  _ him _ . Akashi had a sudden urge to apologize. What did he do wrong? Why was  _ he... _

A foreboding feeling slowly began eating the male from the inside.

…

_ h e  i s  _

_ g o i n g  t o _

_ l e a v e  m e _

…

  
  


_ 80:70 _

** _K_ ** _ u _ **R** _ o _ **_k_ ** _ O  _ **_T_ ** e _ T _ **_su_ ** _ y _ **a:** _ I can't, Akashi-kun _

K _**u** _ r _o **kO** Te_ **t** _S **u**_ **y** _A: I can't_

** _K_ ** _ uR _ **_o_** _kO_ _T_ **e** T ** _s_ u** _y_ a: _I can't_

K _**u** _ r _o **kO** Te_ **t** _S **u**_ **y** _A: I can't_

Those messages were disturbing him.

That dread only kept worsening, devouring him whole. Akashi's instincts yelled at him to stop this immediately, to shut down the computer, to get away from here as quickly as possible. Something was terribly wrong.

But because of that Akashi couldn't leave. Something was wrong.

Something was so so wrong.

_ 80:71 _

_** Akashi Seijuurou:  ** You can't what? _

** _K_ ** _ u _ **R** _ o _ **_k_ ** _ O  _ **_T_ ** e _ T _ **_su_ ** _ y _ **a:** _ I can't _

…

_ K **u** _ **r** _ o _ ** Ko  ** T _ e **t** S **u** _ **y** A:  _ BR EATH E _

…

That affected Akashi more than one would have thought.

The redhead could  _ physically  _ feel all the functions in his body stopping, his mind shutting down.

_ Oh God no _

A hitched, muffled cry welled up in his throat. 

_ No no _

His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, full of terror as his clouded mind was processing those words.

_ No no please no NO _

As if his body was moving on its own, the redhead shot up and threw the computer from his desk, hearing a satisfying breaking noise as the device hit the ground, successfully shutting off the screen and those  _ horrifying  _ words along with it.

_ God-Goddammit _

Akashi tried backing away, but soon his shaking legs gave out and he tumbled to the ground, though that didn't seem to affect him that much.

His heart was pounding against his ribcage wildly, it seemed as if it would break out at any moment.

His head was becoming so light. Everything seemed spinning.

Incredible, how just a few words could affect a person.

…

_ I need those pills. _

Akashi was going on a panic attack.

With great difficulty, the male began crawling to the cabinet that he earlier placed those bottles on. Finally at his destination, he extended his shaking hand and grabbed the slightly smaller container which he knew held sedatives. With disobedient fingers he as quickly as he could opened the lid and took one pill from the bottle. The redhead threw it straight into his throat and swallowed.

Akashi slowly leaned his back against the counter and closed his eyes. He had to calm down. He  _ needed  _ to get ahold of himself.  This w ould solve nothing.

_ Fuck, goddammit, calm down. _

' _ Deep breaths. Everything is okay now. _ '

_ Jesus, no, how am I supposed to take this? _

' _...Perhaps take some of those sleeping pills. Mornings are wiser than evenings. _ '

_ Right... _

Akashi reopened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath. He once again extended his hand and grabbed the second bottle. However, before he could open it, a loud ringing noise broke through the uneasy, deafening silence, horribly startling the redhead.

''Jesus,'' Akashi hissed angrily after he had recovered from that mini heart-attack. He could only think of one person that would call him at this hour, which made him all that more infuriated.

_ Now is not the best time, Shintarou! _

The male to his best abilities with his still slightly trembling legs stood up and walked over to where his phone was charging, just besides the bed.  The redhead was already thinking up of possible excuses to end this conversation as quickly as possible, but all of his thoughts shut down as soon as his eyes landed on the caller ID.

.

..

…

_ This is not possible. _

The name read **_Tetsuya_** along with _his_ number _._

But that was simply not physically possible.

The messages, yes, there  _ might  _ be a logical explanation for them, but for this...

No.

_ His phone... His phone, along with him, was... _

Akashi's mind was too clouded for him to fully register the situation. He could no longer feel his own heart, his breathing, any of his senses, nothing. He could only stare at the ringing device with the name  **_Tetsuya_ ** displayed.

And it didn't stop.

It rang and rang and rang and rang--

_ Stop already. _

_ Fuck, just stop. _

It didn't. 

And Akashi  understood what he needed to do for  _ that goddamn ringing to stop. _

Somehow he knew that declining wouldn't work.

The redhead, as if on auto-pilot, picked the device up and answered it.

…

Nothing. Silence.

Complete silence.

What did he expect, really?

Must have been a malfunction.

_ How, though? _

Somehow that could be logically explained.

Of course.

However, after about a good minute static noise began erupting from the device.

Akashi could have sworn that wasn't the only sound coming from his phone, that there was something in the background of it, but he just wrote it off as his paranoia.

A simple malfunction. Of course.

The call ended.

The redhead slowly placed the phone back on the cabinet and turned away from it.

He felt exhausted.

With that thought the male approached his bed, took that bottle of sleeping pills, threw a couple of them into his mouth, swallowed and plumped down on the soft mattress, not even bothering to change his clothes or head to the bathroom.

Akashi just wanted to forget everything right now.

And as his vision darkened, as his mind began slipping away, he didn't hear ( _ or pretended not to _ ) that quiet, slow melody from underneath his bed.

-.-

_** December 15th ** _

Akashi was beyond glad that his night was void of any dreams.  He was well aware that even with sleeping pills there was always that chance of dreaming, so he was indeed relieved he didn't have any. Reality was enough to stress him out.

If truth be told, it was very easy for the redhead to try and write off last night's final event as a hallucination, since, when he picked up his phone from the cabinet in order to dial Midorima and assure him everything was fine,  his calling journal did not display any  _ disturbing  _ calls from last night. As if no one had called him.

Of course, it  _ would have  _ been easy to simply pretend Akashi just hallucinated, if not for that lingering sick feeling in his throat.

Unfortunately, the messages were a whole different story. The fact that his computer was laying on the ground, broken, was proof of a startled enough Akashi. However, he decided not to dwell on that now.

After the redhead had called and assured Midorima nothing had happened and he was simply very tired and fell asleep early, the male decided to take a shower. It was a good idea to refresh en himself after all that stress from last night.  Speaking of which, Akashi still wasn't quite sure what his next actions will be. Perhaps some exercise would clear his mind and would help him come to a decision.

…

T he chilly air in his lungs and the slightly stinging sensation in his legs honestly cleared the male's distressed head. The redhead used to jog awhile back to stay in shape, but recently he hadn't been doing that, so naturally he got tired a bit quicker.  Not that he minded the sensation of feeling alive.  It helped him f orget.

' _ You can't run away forever. _ '

_ I'm not. There is nothing to run away from. _

' _ You're lying to yourself. _ '

_ And you're just trying to convince me I'm going insane. _

' _ Denial is not the solution. _ '

_ It may as well be. _

What was Akashi supposed to do? How could he... How could he possibly accept the events that are unfolding around him? How could he  _ possibly  _ accept that  _ he  _ was...

The redhead harshly bit on his lower lip.

He had to prevent such thoughts from entering his mind.

Otherwise Akashi feared his sanity would break.

' _ So you're denying Midorima's theory. _ '

_ It shouldn't have been a possible theory to begin with. Too absurd. Simply impossible. _

_ Everything can be explained by logic. I overreacted last night. _

' _ You cannot deny the obvious truth forever. _ '

_ If I accept it we both know what the outcome will be. _

Akashi already had trouble keeping his paranoia at bay.

-.-

Finally home, Akashi exhaled a deep breath and dropped back down on his soft bed. That little trip exhausted him. He wished he could continue running though, not minding his exhaustion. Nevertheless, the day had once again come to an end, so the male had to put all those plans for another day.

However, Akashi was quite restless. Of course, he could always drink some more sleeping pills, but he decided to put that off a bit. It wasn't even that late after all. He wanted to occupy himself with something for awhile,  to avert his thoughts from that uneasy feeling he experienced every time he was in his room.  Something calming perhaps.

_ Ah, of course. _

It had been a long time since Akashi had played the violin. He simply had no such wish after...  _ He  _ loved when the redhead played after all, so it was natural Akashi was quite reluctant in touching the instrument for awhile. Nevertheless, it always did seem to calm him down, so why not.

The violin was rather dusty to say the least. Not to mention out of tune from being unused and shoved away for more than a year. The redhead had to adjust the chords quite a bit for it to produce decent sound.  Luckily the instrument itself was of high quality, so with a little adjustment it rang as new.

After he had taken a seat on his bed,  A kashi positioned the violin  against his jaw and placed the fiddlestick on the chords. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, the male began creating gentle sound.  At first the notes were long and low, but eventually, albeit slowly the melody grew in both speed and height. Akashi wasn't exactly playing a specific piece. He was simply improvising, allowing his emotions to take control and translate through various sounds, thus creating a rather peculiar melody, though enjoyable to the ears nonetheless.

Perhaps the redhead should had returned to music earlier. It closely resembled a therapy session, successfully soothing the distressed male.  Slowly Akashi began loosing himself in the melody he himself was creating.

However, something rather odd began vaguely reaching the male's hazed mind. A soft, foreign sound began quietly intertwining with the violin's melody. Listening a bit closer, Akashi identified it something remotely similar to a tapping sound. From where, however, he couldn't tell.

Nevertheless, puzzled, the male  opened his eyes and ceased his playing in order to hear the strange sound better, but, to his surprise, as soon as the song was cut off, dead silence fell.  Not a single sound could have been heard.  Perhaps that tapping was merely his imagination? Akashi was quite tired after all.

Lightly shaking his head, the male resumed playing.  The stress was certainly affecting him. However, not long after the soft melody once again filled the room, Akashi's sensitive ears caught that strange sound once again. Was it really his imagination? This time, though, he didn't stop playing and tried focusing on that sound through all those melodious notes.  He had this odd feeling that if he stopped playing that sound would cease as well. And Akashi disliked any unsolved mysteries.

Gradually that soft tapping began increasing in volume, to the point that it began closely resembling footsteps, getting louder and louder. When such a realization sunk in in the male's head, he felt how his heartbeat fastened. Was there someone in the hallway? Someone heading in his room's direction? But that shouldn't be possible. The mansion's security  was top-notch. No one should be able to freely break it.

One this was certain: this unnerved Akashi greatly.

Not that he was scared. No, he would be able to handle an intruder, of that he was sure. But that strange dreadful feeling in his chest was what was so uneasy. Besides, something didn't seem right.

Nevertheless, Akashi couldn't simply sit there patiently and let someone wander his home. With that thought he stopped his playing and, after carefully placing the instrument on his bed, stood up. As he had expected, that strange sound stopped immediately after his melody cut off. The redhead quietly approached his drawer and took out the sharpest thing out of it, a pair of scissors. Afterwards he, as silently as he could, walked over to the door and placed his hand on the handle. Taking a deep breath in the hopes of calming down his racing heart, Akashi opened the door.

The redhead quickly flipped the light switch, thus brightening up the dark hallway. For a brief moment Akashi thought his vision had caught something, but blinking once he found the corridor completely void of anyone. Had that sound been indeed merely his imagination? Was tiredness getting to him so badly?

Lightly nibbling his lip, the male turned the lights off and closed the door. However, his hand lingered on the handle for a few moments and he hesitantly locked the door. Perhaps Akashi was being paranoid again, but that foreboding feeling wouldn't leave, so just to be safe. His father wouldn't probably like to get a phone-call, informing him that his son had been found stabbed in his sleep or something. Better safe than sorry.

The redhead walked over to his bed once more. Maybe getting some rest wasn't the worst idea.  If he even began hallucinating...

Yes, perhaps it was best to fall into oblivion and pretend that sound was never there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so if anyone's interested why Kuroko was suddenly being more active and more... uh... restless, no, it's not a plot hole. The reason why he started acting darker and will continue to do so was literally because of Midorima. At first, he suggested Akashi leave this place, which already angered Kuroko, but then MIdorima forcefully took Akashi and he didn't return until, as you could see, several days after. Kuroko seriously did not like that at all. So he got a bit more restless. Hopefully that clears that up.


	6. Chapter 6

_**December 16th** _

Another goddamn nightmare.

Another _fucking_ nightmare.

And this time it was much more vivid.

Unlike the last one, it didn't start off with a light mood. No, not at all. In the beginning Akashi found himself in a deep white mist, unable to make out anything. At first he was rather confused, so he tried moving around, but soon enough found that quite difficult. As soon as the redhead took a step he realized he was on some sort of slippery surface. Come to think of it... It was also rather cold here. Chilly even. A nagging thought entered his mind, and Akashi glanced down to his feet to find that he was indeed on ice.

He was on ice... Somehow that triggered an alarm in the male's head, a dreadful feeling blossoming in his heart. As the realization of his environment sunk in Akashi began slightly trembling, and not from the cold. He feared of what was to come next.

Just then, Akashi's ears caught a muffled banging from below him. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror as his worst nightmare came true. _He_ was under the ice. _He_ was under the ice _drowning,_ desperately banging on it in the hopes of breaking it. _His_ wide from utter fear eyes were looking straight at Akashi, begging him to help him. To _save_ him. _To let allow him to breathe._

Without a second thought the redhead dropped to the ground and began frantically pounding on the cold ice, _his_ name leaving his lips in desperate cries. Akashi absolutely _had to_ break the ice, get _him_ out, _save him._ He couldn't let _him_ drown. He couldn't let _him_ die the same way again when he was here!

_He can't breathe, he can't breathe, hE CAN'T BREATHE_

_Tetsuya can't breathe_

The ice wasn't breaking. The ice wasn't even cracking. Nevertheless, Akashi kept banging on it with all his strength, loudly exclaiming _his_ name. His efforts were so utterly pointless, but the redhead refused to give up. Tetsuya was down there, Tetsuya needed his help!

Tetsuya... Tetsuya was drowning.

Eventually, _his_ banging die down. His eyelids began closing and, due to the lack of strength, _he_ began sinking. Slowly disappearing into the cold darkness, leaving Akashi alone. Leaving Akashi alone again.

The male shrieked hysterically as his lover began sinking, he kept pounding on the ruthless ice, wildly calling _his_ name again and again. All he could focus on was saving _him_ . Seeing _him_ again, hearing _him_ again, touching _him_ again. Akashi couldn't let Tetsuya die.

However, fate wasn't so kind.

Slowly, _he_ disappeared into the cold darkness, _his_ body void of any life signs. And even if Akashi understood it was hopeless, that he was too late, he kept pounding and pounding, ignoring the agonizing pain in his chest, the terror in his heart, the hot streaming tears down his face. No... He couldn't let _him_ go.

_Tetsuya... Don't!..._

_Please, don't leave me alone again!_

_Tetsuya, don't leave me!_

_Not again!.._

_Tetsuya!_

…

Akashi woke up with a jolt. Based on his slightly sour throat he realized he had been screaming in reality as well. No wonder. That was the most horrifying nightmare Akashi could dream of. Witnessing how _he_ died and not being able to do a damn thing about it.

When Akashi learnt that _he_ had left the world of the living, sure, he felt devastated beyond belief, but _his_ cause of death only made it all that much worse. Drowned in a lake . Most likely _he_ had tried to cross it (perhaps didn't even realize it was a lake, since on that night everything was covered in a rich layer of snow), but at one point the ice broke beneath _his_ feet and, not being able to find the hole again, _he_ got trapped underneath the ice. Even an idiot could understand what happened next.

But honestly... Akashi wished that _he_ had left the world quickly. Of course, it wouldn't had lessened the agonizing pain in his chest at all, but knowing that _he_ had died slowly, fully aware that _he was dying_ , that _he was drowning,_ and understanding that _he was all alone_ with _no one to help him_ ... It made it _so_ much worse for Akashi. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the male felt as if he was dying as well. Some days he wished he would never wake up.

Never in his life had Akashi felt so _alone._

_Why... why did you leave?_

_Why did you leave me alone?_

_I cherished you so much..._

_How could you just..._

''How could you just _leave_?'' a quiet, almost inaudible whisper left the redhead's lips. He didn't even realize he had begun talking. Nevertheless, salty tears kept trailing down his pale face, his body shaking with silent sobs as more broken words kept escaping his mouth. ''Why... Why, Tetsuya?.. Did I not love you enough?.. Why did you leave me alone?..''

Akashi brought his trembling hands to his mouth as chocked cries began escaping his throat. Somewhere deep withing the male understood that he couldn't blame _him_ like that, that _he_ had no say in it, but the rest of the redhead's mind was clouded with immense grief, so he couldn't think straight. He could only focus on that gashing wound in his chest.

However, the male's thoughts were cut off by his phone's sudden ringing. The sharp noise startled the redhead quite a bit and he had to take a few moments to compose himself. When he did, though, an uneasy feeling bloomed in his heart. Akashi was rather certain that it was deep into the night, so no one should have any reason for calling him so early. And indeed, the clock on the nightstand by his bed read _03:26._ Who on Earth would...

For some reason Akashi didn't wish to find out.

Nevertheless, the ringing wouldn't stop, so the male had to get up and go retrieve his phone. With heavy legs the redhead stood up from his bed and slowly approached the device. Every moment he wished for it to stop, for it to shut down, so that he could pretend this never happened. However, fate had different plans for him it seemed.

As Akashi's eyes fell onto the bright screen, onto the caller's ID, he felt his blood run cold once more, his heart sinking to his feet.

_No, please, not again_

…

_**Tetsuya** _

_**XXX-XXX-XXX** _

…

No, Akashi didn't want this. He couldn't accept this was happening.

He was merely delusional, that's all.

Nevertheless, the ringing wouldn't stop. He had to pick up.

God, oh how much Akashi didn't want to.

Slowly, with trembling fingers, the redhead picked up the phone and pressed _Answer._

…

Like last time, at first there was nothing.

Then, quicker than before, the static noise came.

Akashi kept listening to that unnerving sound for a good minute before he realized that once again there was some sort of background noise. Now, however, it was quite louder. And gradually it kept increasing in volume to the point where Akashi could try making it out and understanding what exactly it was. When the realization sunk in, however, the redhead's heart stopped.

'' _Aah..-Aaahk..-Aahka..-Aaahkaahshi..-_ ''

His name was being called out.

By a person whose voice sounded awfully familiar.

By a person that seemed suffocating.

By a person who _couldn't breathe._

A horrified, muffled cry welled up in Akashi's throat as the realization finally sunk in. Such terror spread inside of the male that he didn't register his racing heart in his throat, his body suddenly shaking, his head spinning, his vision growing dark.

Akashi couldn't recall when it was the last time since he had felt such horror.

_Thiscannotbehappening_

Frantically, the redhead brought the device away from his ear and tried to end the call, but to no avail. The phone itself wouldn't shut off no matter what he did. Finally Akashi threw the device to the ground with all his might, but even that didn't manage to turn it off. Not knowing what else he could do, the redhead dashed for the exit. He couldn't stay in this room any longer. He had to get out, he _needed_ to get out.

That horrific sound was driving him insane.

However, Akashi's task proved the be a difficult one when he had finally reached his destination.

The door wouldn't open. It was as if it was locked, even though Akashi _clearly_ remembers not locking it.

There wasn't even a key there.

Nevertheless, the fact was still undeniable.

Akashi was locked inside his own room.

And no matter how hard he pounded on the door, no matter how hard he tried to break it, it wouldn't budge.

He couldn't get out.

And that damned noise wouldn't stop.

…

Akashi leaned against the unmoving door and dropped down. Afterwards he tightly placed his hands over his ears in the hopes of blocking that _horrible_ sound, that _terrifying_ voice. It was driving him crazy, it was driving him mad, he couldn't take this anymore, he couldn't--

_Stop this_

_Please, stop_

_God, just stop!_

_Stop!_

''Stop!'' Akashi shrieked out without even realizing, shutting his eyes tightly in the process. '' _Stop! Stop! Stop!_ ''

And unexpectedly, it did.

That disturbing noise cut off immediately after the redhead had begged for it to cease.

And for awhile, nothing could be heard. The only sound in the room was Akashi's pounding heart, indicating that he was still alive, even though not so well.

The male had enough of this.

Slowly, he opened up his eyes and glanced at the nightstand besides his bed where the bottle of sleeping pills laid. He couldn't risk anything else happening while he was still awake. He had to lose his consciousness _now_.

With that thought the redhead with great difficulty began crawling back to the nightstand, hoping with all his heart that his phone wouldn't ring again. Akashi feared he might not be able to take it _at all_ if it did. At least while he was awake and fully aware. This night was already too stressful for him to handle.

However, what made Akashi's heart freeze and forced his shaking hand to take the bottle of pills quicker was a whole different sound.

A broken melody he knew all too well began playing from underneath his bed. It was quiet, yes, but cut through the silence like a knife nonetheless. Any other person would most likely wonder about such a strange phenomenon, since the music box was hidden underneath Akashi's bed, but the redhead was already far too distressed. He only kept repeating that the music was just his imagination, that he was just tired and started hallucinating, that everything was fine as his trembling fingers tried to open the lid of that bottle.

Finally succeeding in doing so, the male shook out a few (he didn't count how many) pills and threw all of them into his mouth.

' _That's too many!_ '

It was already late for such warnings, since neither Akashi cared nor could he take back those pills now, which were traveling down his throat. Afterwards the redhead began crawling away from the bed as much as he could, until he reached the furthest corner. Slumping down against it, shutting his eyes and tightly covering his ears, he waited until those pills began taking effect.

_It's just my imagination, it's just my imagination, this isn't real, I'm only hallucinating, it's just--_

After what seemed like an eternity, Akashi's hearing began muffling, his thoughts, consciousness fading into the welcoming darkness. He pretended that broken music was merely his imagination until the very end though. He pretended...

_that he couldn't hear that quiet voice once again, right before he lost his consciousness._

...

" _Aahkahshii..-kuhn..-I aahm so..-rryy..-I'm..- so..-sorr-ryy._."

...

__


	7. Chapter 7

_** December 18th ** _

To say Mayuzumi was in a bad mood would be an understatement. 

The male was _pissed_. 

It was approximately eleven in the evening when he received a call from a person he spoke to maximum three times - Midorima Shintarou. Mayuzumi wasn't dense though, so he immediately understood what this call was going to be about. And just like that his night was ruined. 

Which brings the male to the situation he was at the moment. 

Just as Mayuzumi had suspected, Midorima called him regarding that brat, Akashi. Apparently, he hadn't been picking up his phone for over two days now, the same with the mansion's phone. It was impossible to reach the redhead by any means, social media sites included. Based on some people's sightings, there was also no light visible in the house in that period. So either Akashi had left somewhere or something had happened to him. And that is why Midorima had called Mayuzumi, since he lived the closest. Midorima would have gone himself, but he had other urgent matters to take care of. And even though Akashi's senior was quite irritated by the inconvenient to him request, he agreed nonetheless. If truth be told, his last visit to the Akashi mansion shook him up, yet caught his interest. Something seemed very wrong there, and Mayuzumi had this strange urge to find out what it was. 

Nevertheless, the male couldn't help but feel irritated. It was in the middle of the goddamn night _in winter_ and he had to visit some brat's house. He wasn't even friends with that guy. Of course, it wasn't as if he was going there alone. The head maid will also accompany him, since she was the only one with a spare key. Sure, Mayuzumi wouldn't have let the woman enter that house alone either way, but he still asked Midorima about it.

…

_ ''If she is going, why do I have to as well?'' _

_ ''...For precaution purposes. If something had indeed happened to Akashi, it wouldn't be good if a maid all by herself found out.'' _

…

Nevertheless, Mayuzumi sensed something more in the other's tone. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who had strange suspicions about that mansion. That would make sense why Midorima seemed worried about Akashi, even though the latter was unreachable from merely two days.

Any other normal person would most likely get frightened, but Mayuzumi wasn't one of them. He was that one guy from horror films that tried to solve the mystery without allowing fear to take over him.

Was that a good or a bad thing though, no one could be certain.

When Mayuzumi finally reached the Akashi mansion, an elderly woman was already waiting by the front entrance. She had multiple layers of clothes on her due to the rather chilly weather, but other than that she looked well. Unlike Mayuzumi, the maid didn't seem too irritated about being called out in the middle of the night.

''Good evening,'' the gray-haired male greeted her politely when he reached the door.

''Ah, hello,'' she answered with a small bow. ''You must be Mayuzumi-san, correct? I really appreciate you coming all this way to check on Master Seijuurou.''

''Well, it wouldn't be good if something had indeed happened to him and we waited any longer,'' he murmured while looking at the door, slight annoyance breaking through. The woman didn't seem to catch it though.

''I suppose that's true,'' the maid hummed as she took out the keys and inserted them into the lock. ''Master Seijuurou had dismissed all servants until further notice awhile back for some reason, but we are yet to receive that notice, which, I must admit, is a bit odd.''

Mayuzumi didn't answer anything and only waited for the door to be unlocked. When it was, however, and the woman opened it, he stopped her from advancing any further.

''Perhaps you should remain here,'' he spoke warily, intently looking at the dark hallway ahead. That strange aura from last time... Not it was much worse. It was simply sickening and no person should want to enter such a premise. However, Mayuzumi's options were quite limited. And he wasn't simply going to allow this woman to walk inside house with such an uneasy atmosphere. ''I'll go in alone.''

''But... why?'' the maid asked puzzled. Did she not get the same foreboding feeling?

''It will be safer that way. If something had indeed happened to Akashi, I wouldn't want you to see it,'' Mayuzumi came up with an explanation on the spot as he slowly began walking inside. However, soon he stopped and glanced over his shoulder at the elderly woman. ''If I don't come back, don't follow me in. Instead, call the police.''

Color visibly drained from her face at such a command. Obviously she wasn't actually expecting the worse case scenario, but Mayuzumi felt the duty to warn her. If something was indeed going on here...

''Excuse me, but,'' the maid suddenly spoke when the male had started slowly continuing to advance further. ''You seem rather on edge. Why exactly are you warning me like this?''

''...Something just doesn't seem right here,'' Mayuzumi decided to stick with the truth this time.

After that the male went in further and searched for a light-switch. However, just as he flickered the nearest one on, the main entrance doors suddenly closed shut loudly. That slightly startled the gray-haired male, and he cursed on his breath.

_ Must have been the wind. _

Nevertheless, he couldn't get frightened so easily. So after a moment of composing himself, Mayuzumi carefully began advancing further down the gloomy and dark hallway. Not even turning on the lights seemed to solve those factors. As if they were cold, unwelcoming. The corridor itself seemed more grim than last time. For some reason Mayuzumi got this odd feeling of being unwanted here. Not only that... Unexplained dread began slowly spreading inside his heart. He suddenly had this strange urge to leave, to leave and never come back, but the male shoved such irrational thoughts further down and only concentrated on the task at hand.

And that was reaching Akashi's bedroom.

From last time Mayuzumi fully remembered where that specific room was, so he had no trouble finding it. But the closer he got, the stronger that foreboding feeling grew. And by the time he had placed his hand on the doorknob, his heart for some unexplainable reason was seemingly pounding in his throat. He honestly didn't want to enter. As if something terrible would happen if he did. Nonetheless, again, those were merely irrational thoughts caused by this odd fear. And Mayuzumi wasn't going to let it control him.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the male pressed on the knob and opened the door. 

…

As suspected, darkness greeted him. However, it felt so strangely heavy. Suffocating even. And that odd cold atmosphere... Mayuzumi did no enjoy being there, not one bit. Nevertheless, he slowly entered the room and flickered on the light-switch.

The first thing that caught the male's eyes when the room was illuminated was the broken computer on the floor next to the desk. _Now that's odd._ It almost seemed as if someone deliberately threw it from the table. However, Mayuzumi could focus on that later. Instead, he began scanning through the room, noticing the disheveled bed, the phone on the ground not far from it and finally...

Finally Mayuzumi's eyes landed on the slumped figure in the of the further corners.

The male quickly walked over to the unmoving redhead and knelt down next to him. Akashi had seemingly lost consciousness while in a sitting position, which resulted in the uncomfortable one he was in at the moment. Placing two fingers against his neck, Mayuzumi sighed in relief when he felt pulse, even if it was a bit weaker than it should be.

What on Earth caused this?

Lightly nibbling on his lip, the gray-haired male stood up and carefully scooped the redhead up. He should at least lay the other down on the bed before calling an ambulance. If Akashi had been in this position for more than a whole day, then he should feel quite sore when he'd wake up. But that wasn't Mayuzumi's main concern here right now.

After carefully laying the younger male on the soft mattress, his eyes caught something by the nightstand on the ground. Coming closer and taking the item from the floor, Mayuzumi could feel how confusion seeped into him.

It was an open bottle of sleeping pills. And by the looks of it, Akashi most likely took some in a hurry and tossed it away, loosing consciousness afterwards. Nevertheless... Glancing at the sleeping male, Mayuzumi couldn't help but wonder.

_ How many of these did he have?.. _

Just then, however, the eerie silence was cut through by a loud bang as the room's door suddenly closed shut. Startled, Mayuzumi quickly averted his eyes from the bottle of pills to the source of that unexpected sound. However, not giving him any time to wonder about it, the lights went out as well, throwing the room into unnerving darkness with only the dim moonlight illuminating it. The atmosphere just grew ten times heavier. 

If truth be told, Mayuzumi would be lying if he said that this didn't creep him out. Sure, he was always the composed one, but even he could feel the uneasy shiver run down his spine. If earlier the male didn't want to be here, then now he badly wished to leave. His heart was already pounding against his ribcage, and nothing even happened. 

That being said... 

The uneasy silence was once again disturbed. A long, quiet creaking noise cut through it, making the blood in Mayuzumi's veins run cold. He immediately directed his eyes to that place, only to find that seemingly the bathroom's door was slowly being opened. 

And there, in the doorway, someone stood. 

Or some _thing_. 

Either way, Mayuzumi was suddenly painfully aware that he and Akashi weren't alone. 

Nevertheless, the male refused to allow irrational thoughts to cloud his mind. So he, when he managed to find his voice, spoke as firmly as he could. 

"Who are you?"

It didn't answer. In this incredibly dim lighting Mayuzumi was unable to make out any features of the person or being, but what thing was certain: it was looking at him. It was just standing there, facing the gray-haired male. 

Mayuzumi was unsure or what he should do, but all such thoughts were thrown out the window when the being slowly took a step in his direction and the moonlight illuminated it. 

The lighting wasn't the reason why Mayuzumi couldn't make out any of its features. 

That was because that being had none. 

A dark human silhouette. A dark _awfully familiar_ silhouette. 

That was what that being was. 

As if a mere shadow. _A shadow that was slowly advancing in his direction._

All of Mayuzumi's instincts at that moment screamed for him to get out. Loud danger alarms rang in the male's head, clouding his mind with sudden fear. He did not wish to remain there for a second longer. Whatever that thing was, it was obviously not human. Far from it. And worst of all, _it did not seem friendly._ On the contrary, Mayuzumi now more than ever felt how _unwanted_ he was.

He should leave.

He had to leave _right now._

_ What about Akashi though?  _ a sudden thought struck him.

However, for some unexplainable reason the male doubted the redhead was in any harm.

No, whatever that being was,  _it specifically didn't want Mayuzumi here._

Dropping the bottle of pills, he quickly made his way to the door and tried to open it.

However, to his immense shock, it was locked. No, more like, it simply wouldn't open. And no matter how hard the male tried to break through it, the wood wouldn't budge at all. 

He couldn't get out.

Not having anything else to do, Mayuzumi quickly turned around to face that being. It was still slowly creeping to his direction, growing nearer by the moment. The male's eyes darted around the room, but there were no other means of escape. If the door was locked, then the windows would probably not be effective as well. He was completely trapped and could only watch as that thing advanced closer and closer, that dark, chilling aura growing by the second and that awful dread kept eating Mayuzumi's wildly beating heart away.

What the hell could he do?

What... What was even happening here?

Mayuzumi was sane enough to know he couldn't hallucinate to this extent.

The being, the dark silhouette of a presumably male, a bit shorter than the other, stopped right in front of him.

Mayuzumi could feel his body starting to tremble as he stared at the black figure, seemingly frozen in place, successfully trapping the gray-haired man against the door. His head had even begun to lightly spin at the sight of it.

This seemed so surreal.

''Who are you? What the hell do you want?!'' Mayuzumi managed to snap at the being as firmly as he could. Somewhere deep inside his mind a quiet voice whispered that it was no use, did it look like that thing could answer? 

…

_ w h a t  _

_ d o _

_ I w a n t ? _

…

_ y o u _

_ s h o u l d n o t _

_ h a v e c o m e b a c k _

…

Before Mayuzumi had the time to realize, the being's cold, _dead_ hands wrapped tightly around his neck and lifted him slightly against the locked door. The male released a surprised yelp and his own hands instinctively made their way to the figure's, desperately trying to loosed its metal grip.

…

_ h e t o l d y o u _

_ t o n e v e r  _

_ c o m e b a c k _

…

The being was strangling Mayuzumi and it seemingly had to intention of letting go.

It was _infuriated._

…

_ h o w d a r e _

_ y o u _

_ i n t r u d e _

…

The gray-haired male was _chocking,_ madly chocking. With all the power he had he tried to those _dead_ hands off of him. However, it was to no avail. They felt as if made of steel. No matter how hard Mayuzumi tried to struggle, it was absolutely no use.

The being had absolutely no intention of letting go after all.

…

_ h o w d a r e _

_ y o u _

_ t o u c h h i m _

…

Black dots began dancing in Mayuzumi's blurring vision. The strength in his struggling arms was slowly fading away with each second and true, utter fear finally struck him.

He couldn't get this being to release him.

Was he seriously going to die like this?

Strangled by a shadow?

_ Oh God no _

That being was murdering him.

…

_I w i l l_

_k i l l_

_y o u_

…

It was hopeless.

The outcome of this was crystal clear.

Mayuzumi's arms fell to his sides.

His chocking ceased.

And just before his consciousness abandoned him once and for all, a quiet, barely audible icy whisper reached his hear.

_ I ' m s o r r y _

…

Mayuzumi's lifeless body hit the cold ground beneath the phantom's feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, shit just officially went downhill.  
> Am I a bad person for enjoying writing stuff like this?? Am I??  
> It was fun, what can I say.  
> I was giggling so much when I was reading some of your comments about fearing Mayuyu was gonna die, ha, how do you feel now


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls don't hit me
> 
> I'm very sorry I'm posting this today rather than yesterday! There were things I wanted to fix and time ran out! I deeply apologize, but hey, I'm just one day late.
> 
> And now, the last chapter.

_** December 19th, 00:08 ** _

Akashi didn't quite understand what was happening at first. He was completely lost when his consciousness had slowly began returning. Firstly he registered that it was _cold._ Then, the pain came. All of his body ached, from neck to legs. Naturally, that caused confusion, since the redhead had yet to remember what had happened.

However, as his mind was steadily clearing and his senses returning, somehow he experienced a feeling he couldn't write off and was absolutely sure of it.

He was not alone.

Akashi couldn't understand why he felt that way, since the room he was deadly quiet.

_ Perhaps even too quiet. _

But then, the silence was disturbed. Quiet, almost inaudible and _incredibly_ slow footsteps began advancing in his direction. Immediately all sleep chased away, but Akashi refused to open his eyes or move a single inch. As if he had frozen. The only indication that the redhead was wide awake was his wildly beating heart. He desperately hoped whoever or whatever was present in his room wouldn't be able to hear it. Akashi didn't want to face them or it, to open his eyes, for he feared of what he might find.

It might have been a completely irrational fear, but Akashi wasn't taking chances. At least not with his clouded mind.

The slow, steady footsteps kept growing neared and neared and with them the redhead's heartbeat accelerated more and more. _Oh God_ how he wished for it to slow down, to decrease in volume. It was such a dead giveaway of his awake state.

Then, the sound stopped.

Just a mere meter from him.

And Akashi didn't need to open his eyes to know that whoever or whatever that was was _looking_ at him. Observing his unmoving body. Perhaps even listening to his wild heartbeat.

God know what was their plan.

Did they intended to kill Akashi? If so, then the redhead would have no choice but to fight back. But instead... Whoever that was, it just simply stopped and stood there. Simply stared at the madly distressed male.

Akashi didn't remember when it was the last time he longed for the light of day _this much_. Perhaps with it whoever that was would go away. Would leave him alone.

And maybe Akashi would be able to convince himself that he was merely hallucinating. That it was just his imagination.

_ Please, just leave me alone _

…

_** 02:48 ** _

It was so _cold_ here.

But the redhead didn't dare to move.

He had been laying like this for hours. And that thing was still there. Akashi knew it. Akashi could _feel_ its intense gaze, its presence right besides him.

As if waiting. Waiting for Akashi to give up and embrace the inevitable.

Whatever that was.

But the redhead still refused to give in.

…

_** 03:55 ** _

This unexplainable coldness and his frozen position were slowly lulling Akashi to sleep. Fear and his will to keep his guard up kept him awake all this time, but gradually he was running out strength. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to drift off and wait until day broke once again. 

Oh how Akashi wished for the sun, for the light. Anything but this unnerving feeling in his chest, caused by whoever was staring at him all night.

And slowly, the redhead's thoughts began drifting into nothingness and sleep overtook his body.

Akashi was glad for that.

…

_** 09:12 ** _

As the morning sunlight hit his closed eyelids, Akashi steadily began waking up. As always, his mind was rather dazed at the beginning, but as soon as he cracked open one eye, recent memories came crashing back with incredible force. His breath hitched in his throat as he remember everything that had happened.

_ Oh God, please tell me it was a nightmare. _

However, perhaps it really was just a dream? Akashi was laying in his bed after all, even though he clearly remembered passing out somewhere on the floor. How did he get here then?..

Slowly opening his other eye, the redhead glanced at the clock besides his bed to find that it was just morning. And thank God for that. The sunlight was breaking through his half-closed curtains, illuminating the cold room. Groggily, the male sat up and rubbed one of his eyes. If truth be told, he wasn't quite sure what date it was. For how long was he out?

Finally Akashi decided to try and stand up. His whole body was sore and it hurt just to make the smallest of moves. His neck experienced the worst pain though. The male grunted lowly as he gently tried to massage the pained area and slowly turn his head from side to side. Just then, however, he slightly turned and his eyes fell on the room's door.

Akashi's heart dropped to his feet. His whole body froze.

His mind shut down.

There was someone laying there.

Someone who seemed awfully familiar and didn't display any signs of life. 

…

Perhaps Akashi was still in that godforsaken nightmare.

…

As realization slowly sunk into the redhead's mind, a horrified gasp welled up in his throat, but Akashi managed to muffle it down by covering his mouth with his hand. The male's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, his petrified look fixated on the body by his door, laying on its side. The man's face was covered with his gray bangs, though even from here Akashi could make out that sickening skin tone.

The male felt like throwing up.

…

Akashi stood there for a good minute, completely frozen in place, before his senses slowly began returning.

And with it logic turned on.

He had to go there and inspect.

He couldn't just stand in one place forever after all. 

Nevertheless, Akashi still had to muster up all his willpower to even take a single step.

For some reason the mere sight was revolting, so naturally he didn't wish to get any closer. But the male's rational thoughts got the better of him, so soon enough, after several slow steps and with drastically increased heartbeat Akashi had reached the laying man besides his door.

The redhead stared at him for a few moments before taking in a deep breath and kneeling down. With slightly trembling fingers he brushed away the other's gray locks from his face, his breath hitching at the sight. The man's eyelids were half-closed, his eyes glassy, unseeing. His whole face was sickening pale, lips parted, as if he had been gasping for air. But worst of all was the unfortunate victim's expression: displaying pure horror.

Akashi once again had to cover up his mouth to prevent any sounds from leaving it and in the hopes of pushing down that sick feeling of vomiting.

The redhead didn't even need to check the man's pulse to know that there wasn't any hope for him. However, based on the coldness of his skin, it seemed he had died quite awhile ago. Or, to be more precise, was _strangled._

Mayuzumi Chihiro was murdered. In Akashi's own room.

And horror spread inside the redhead as he realized that he knew what had happened.

_ This... This had gotten completely out of control. _

_ Completely and utterly out of control. _

_ This absolutely has to stop. _

Akashi quickly found the deceased man's phone and turned it on. At first he noticed that Mayuzumi had quite a few missed calls from various of people, starting Midorima and ending with Mibuchi. However, the redhead had other business to take care of at the moment.

Akashi inserted the number _110_ , but his finger stopped just above the 'dial' button as a sudden thought struck him.

_ Wait... If I report this, I'll be the one framed for murder. _

That was right. Even though the male was certain that he did not touch the gray-haired male, there would be absolutely no other suspects. Akashi would be charged of murder and sentenced to prison, or worse, an asylum. Not only would his life be _completely_ ruined, but this mystery would remain unsolved.

Akashi was the only one that could put a stop to this after all.

The only one that could...

The redhead's fingers erased the number and instead dialed a different one.

After a few rings, it was picked up.

''Good morning, Shintarou,'' he spoke a bit hoarsely before the other had the chance to open is mouth. The redhead lightly coughed a couple of times to clear out his throat.

'' _A-Akashi? What happened? Why weren't you answering your phone for so long? And why are you calling from Mayuzumi's now?_ '' the other spilled his questions like beans.

''Nothing. I accidentally overdosed some sleeping pills. And Chihiro...'' Akashi's eyes drifted to the unmoving body next to him. He stood up and continued his thought. ''He left his phone at my place.''

'' _Did he know... Akashi, are you certain nothing had happened? You sound off._ ''

''Everything is fine,'' the redhead lied smoothly. He perfectly understood that hiding the fact that a person was murdered in his room could cause severe consequences, but if the body is ever found Akashi would be going to jail for a long time either way. At least now he'd be able to buy some time, even if that meant lying to such an extent to Midorima. ''I simply woke up only a few minutes ago.''

From now on he will be working alone.

''... _Then how you were able to contact your maid and assure her everything was okay?_ ''

''What?''

'' _When I called your maid who was accompanying Mayuzumi after not being able to contact him, she said you had called her earlier and convinced her there was nothing to worry about. Or did such a thing not happen?_ ''

Akashi was, to say the least, taken aback. He was certain he hadn't called anyone tonight, much less from his... phone...

The redhead's eyes quickly darted to the place he had dropped the device some time ago, but to his surprise it wasn't there. Instead, it was neatly laying on his desk, even though the male could have sworn he hadn't touched it. Perhaps when Mayuzumi came he picked it up and placed it there, and afterwards...

''A-Ah, yes,'' Akashi quickly regained his composure. He couldn't tell the truth after all. ''I had woken up earlier this night and contacted her, since Chihiro told me she would be worrying otherwise. I suppose I fell asleep later again.''

'' _...I see. Well then, I'm glad nothing had happened. And how are you feeling now? It's this day after all..._ ''

''This day?..'' the redhead repeated puzzled, but a quick look to the phone's clock accompanied by today's date answered his unspoken question. And his heart dropped to the floor. ''O-Oh, yes. Um, yeah, I'm fine. Just, um, I'd like to be with myself for today, so don't disturb me.''

'' _I understand. Take care, Akashi._ ''

''Yeah, you too.''

With that the call ended.

The redhead lowered the phone and turned it off. No one was going to need it anymore anyway.

His crimson eyes once again fell on the man laying in front of him.

Akashi's whole life has officially been ruined irreversibly.

* * *

 

_** 13:45 ** _

Strangely enough, Akashi, for the first time in quite awhile, didn't leave the house during the day. There were quite a few reasons for that, but perhaps he was simply paranoid that someone might find a dead body in his rather spacious closet if he left. 

Also, now that this mystery had gotten so out of control, Akashi feared what might happen if he left. This could not continue any longer. The redhead had no idea what will become of his life when this ends, but he tried not to think about it too much. Simply live in the moment. He'll figure something out later. 

Besides.

Akashi feared he wouldn't have enough strength to ever come back if he did leave.

So, until nightfall, the time when... _it_ was most active, the redhead decided to push time around the manor.

In the end, he didn't remember what he had done at all.

* * *

 

_** 21:25 ** _

It was around half past nine when Akashi had decided to take a bath. Even with all those sedatives his nerves were still driving him insane. Perhaps some warm water would be able to soothe his troubled mind. 

The male should have figured that couldn't have been a good idea.

After the bathtub was filled with warm, clear water, the redhead carefully laid down inside it and closed his eyes. He tried taking deep breaths and listening to his heartbeat in the hopes of calming down. The water around him soothed his frail, aching body, managing to relax the tense muscles. Slowly, all of Akashi's thoughts faded away and he entered some sort of trance.

It didn't last for long though.

Just as the male had completely lowered his guard, he felt something touched the top of his head and, before he had the chance to react, it was pushed under the water. Immediately all haziness chased away and he on instinct began wildly struggling. However, whoever was holding his head down had immense strength and wouldn't budge an inch, only firmly kept it underwater. At this point Akashi had began panicking. Was he seriously being drowned? But he didn't hear anyone entering... Unless...

_ No, it can't be. _

The red-haired male's thoughts shot to his murdered senior and the most possible culprit.

_ Is... is **he** drowning me? _

But why?

However, Akashi didn't have any time to think about it. The shortage of air was very severe at this moment already and the redhead was madly struggling and trying to get out of that firm grip. Fear suddenly struck him.

However, just as Akashi couldn't keep his breath any longer and his mouth was beginning to open, the force holding him down suddenly disappeared and his head immediately shot upwards from the water. The male took a loud and deep breath the moment he could and delicious air filled his desperate lungs. Afterwards he began gasping for more and coughing soon followed. The lack of air had formed an ache in his head and even without opening his eyes Akashi could tell that his vision had darkened. Never before was he so glad to be able to breathe.

Finally, after his lungs were satisfied enough, the male slightly calmed down and opened his eyes, immediately looking around the room. Just as he had suspected, he was alone. However, his bathroom's door was wide open, even though Akashi clearly remembered closing it, even locking. The room beyond it was engulfed in complete, gloomy darkness, sending chills down the redhead's spine.

However, that wasn't the only odd, abnormal detail.

There were also wet footsteps leading from the bathtub to the exit.

Akashi immediately got out of the tub and grabbed his towel. After he had dried himself enough, he quickly dressed up and, with a heavy heart, went out of the bright room, turning off the light and closing the door in the process.

His own room was as cold as ever, but that wasn't the main thought on his mind.

It seemed the time had finally come. He couldn't back away now. Not that it would be possible.

He had been preparing for this all day after all. Nevertheless, that didn't calm down his rapid heartbeat or that slight tremble that was beginning to overtake his body. Before fear completely invaded his mind, Akashi, in a quiet, uncertain, slightly wavering voice finally spoke:

''T-Tetsuya?''

No answer. Was there supposed to be one?

''You're here, aren't you.''

The temperature seemingly dropped a couple of degrees.

''You're the one that killed Chihiro. The one that tried to drown me, right?''

_ I ' m  s o r r y _

The whisper was so faint Akashi barely heard it. Nevertheless, the silence was so deafening, that he couldn't miss a single sound.

His heartbeat increased.

''I know you didn't mean it,'' the redhead continued, now in a hushed voice. It was slowly starting to tremble. ''Tetsuya would never do something like this on purpose.''

Silence. Even so, Akashi could feel his throat tightening. Such a devastating aura washed over him.

Tetsuya would never...

_ But he left me. _

_ He  _ left him.

_ He  _ left him just like that.

_ 'You can't blame him for that. You know you can't.' _

Nevertheless...

''You left me, Tetsuya,'' Akashi found himself whispering. His shaking voice was barely audible. ''You can't just... You can't just leave and then come back like _this_!''

The male didn't know what he was feeling anymore. Grief? Anger? Regret? All he knew was that all those emotions welled up in his chest, clouding his already dark vision.

''You can't just do that, Tetsuya!'' the redhead suddenly shrieked, pain painting his voice. What had gotten over him?

Why was he loosing control?

Akashi forgot what was happening.

_ I ' m s o r r y I ' m s o r r y I ' m s o r r y I ' m s o r r y I ' m s o r r y _

The whispers kept increasing in volume.

They kept increasing and increasing, desperation painting them.

Where were they coming from?

Perhaps from inside Akashi's head?

No matter the answer, they were driving him insane.

He wished for them to stop.

He couldn't bear hearing them.

The redhead dropped to his knees and tightly covered his ears, shrieking out a single word:

'' _Stop_ !''

…

''Please, just stop...''

…

''Don't apologize...''

…

''I'm... I'm sorry...''

…

''Please forgive me, Tetsuya...''

…

''I'm so sorry...''

…

Hot tears kept streaming down the male's pale cheeks, his body shaking with sobs, occasional hitched breaths leaving his lips into the heavy silence.  _God_ , he was so sorry. Akashi kept repeating that, again and again, completely loosing track of time. 

He was on the brink of breaking.

_ 'You must get ahold of yourself. Remember your initial task.' _

_ My... task? _

_ 'He is restless.' _

That's right...

There was a reason why Akashi finally decided to confront whoever was haunting him.

He couldn't break, not yet.

''Why, Tetsuya?'' an almost inaudible whisper left his trembling lips. Slowly he removed the hands from his head and slightly lifted it up. ''What's wrong? Why are you so restless? What are you regretting so much?''

As in answer, his room's door suddenly burst open. The hint clicked inside the male's head.

''You... you want me to go out?'' Akashi asked uncertainly. ''Where?''

Where did _he_ want for him to go? 

Where on Earth did Akashi need to go this late into the night?

On this day... This time...

_ Perhaps... _

''...Do you want me to go to _that_ place?'' the male whispered quietly. ''Will I... Will I find something there?''

That one the most possible option.

And as much as Akashi didn't want to, he slowly got up to his feet and began heading towards the exit, finding new determination inside of him.

He had nothing to lose after all.

* * *

 

_** 23:21 ** _

The car ride was a long one. The road Akashi was taking at first had occasional cars here and there, but eventually they all disappeared, leaving the redhead all alone. No wonder. Who in their right mind would head to such a forest at this hour after all?

Obviously neither Akashi nor _he_ were in their right minds _._

But the redhead couldn't dwell on that. He had already decided he would see this to the end, there was no backing away now. Besides, Akashi was well aware that at some point he had gone crazy.

He _absolutely_ had nothing to lose anymore.

Finally the lonely road ended in the middle of the dark forest. From here the male would have to walk a bit to reach his destination. And even though it was the middle of the night, somehow Akashi knew he wouldn't get lost.

And compared to the darkness in his room, this one was almost welcoming.

After sitting in his car for a few minutes, simply gazing through through the window into the gloomy forest, Akashi slowly opened the door and got out into the chilly night. He didn't bother locking it though. The male doubted someone would find his car here. Even if they did, he ceased to care anymore.

Finally Akashi began walking.

To any other these dark woods would seem creepy, frightening even, but after all the redhead had experienced it failed to leave any sort of mark. Besides, his mind was completely blank. He could only focus on reaching his destination. 

That godforsaken lake.

After what seemed like an eternity ( _or perhaps just a moment?_ ), a clearing entered his field of vision. The temperature wasn't below zero, so the still, dark water reflected the clear night sky above. So innocent, so pure.

So deceiving.

As if a robot, Akashi slowly walked around the lake and finally ended up in the spot that held such devastating memories. He still remembered it so vividly, as if it had happened just yesterday. _He_ had been missing for a couple of days at that moment, and Akashi had grown beyond worried. He knew something must had happened and, of course, he dreaded of the worst. Casting all his work aside, the male completely immersed himself in helping to search for _him_ along with countless of police groups. Akashi had to hire enough people for the search to be over as soon as possible after all. However, it seemed they didn't have to look that far.

One late evening Akashi received a call, informing him that they most likely found _him_. Dropping everything he had been doing at that moment, he immediately went to the said place. Here. To this spot. They had just lifted something out of the water and onto the ground. The dread that had been eating his heart away these days completely engulfed the male as he finally--

But this year, there was no ice. The temperature hadn't been as low to freeze the water. Perhaps, if the same had been last year, _he_ wouldn't had--

Akashi weakly shook his head. What was the point in thinking this way now? He had a task after all, so he had to focus on that.

_ Wait... What am I supposed to do anyway? _

Akashi was here, at the place _he_ had died. What now?

What did _he_ want for him to do?

The redhead's thoughts vaguely traveled back to that incident in the bathtub. _He_ hadn't had the intention of drowning him after all, so why... Perhaps _he_ wished to tell Akashi something.

_ Almost drowned... Under the water... _

_ He  _ wanted for Akashi to get under the water.

''...Did you lose something, Tetsuya?'' the male whispered unconsciously. ''Do you want me to find it?''

Of course, no one answered him.

The redhead stared at the still, presumably freezing water for a few seconds  before coming to a decision.

A fter undressing himself to the last layer of clothes, Akashi approached the lake and dived in. The freezing water was excruciating. As if hundreds of icy daggers pierced into his bare skin, momentarily freezing his mind, stopping all thoughts. It was so,  _so_ cold, so painfully cold that it numbed all of Akashi's senses. However, the male gathered up all his willpower and continued to dive deeper. The bottom wasn't too far, but by the time he had reached it, the shortage of air was already quite severe, so the redhead could only search it for a couple of seconds before needing to resurface. The chilly winter air  stung his lungs, but Akashi couldn't dwell on that. Quickly, he dived into the depths once more, resuming his search.

The redhead couldn't remember how many times he had repeated the same process, how much time had passed until his hand finally touched something foreign, something besides sand and rocks. Immediately he took the small item and rose up to the surface. After catching his breath, Akashi began swimming back to the shore. Once out, the male once more felt the immense coldness of the night hit him with full force, making his body shiver wildly. However, instead of dressing himself or doing anything else to warm himself up, all of Akashi's focus was on the small item in his hands. 

It was a dark wooden box. It was a bit damaged from being in water for so long, even a little bit of mold had grown onto it, but  despite that Akashi could still make out the detailed engraved tracery, indicating that the box had to be quite expensive. Nevertheless, not wasting time, Akashi turned the lock up and opened it.

Immediately, music began spreading from the box. A gentle, quiet tune, one that the male recognized immediately. A piece from the Romanticism era, one that both Akashi and  _he_ so much enjoyed and used to listed to quite often. The redhead even learnt how to play it,  for what  _he_ was very happy. This tune hit a string in him stronger than he had wanted.

However, Akashi's attention was soon drifted to the inside of the box. There, untouched by the water, laid a letter. With shaking from both the cold and whatever he might find fingers Akashi took the paper out and unfolded it.

…

_ Seijuurou, _

_ First, happy birthday! The 20th one is a very special one after all. I've known you for a very long time, but the last four years spent together were the best ones of my life. Each day I kept asking myself whether this wasn't just a dream, whether I was indeed so lucky to have you besides me. I still do. It's a bit hard to believe someone like you would choose someone like me. _

_ Anyway... I just wanted to tell you how happy I am to have you. I wouldn't exchange those four years for anything, I wouldn't exchange you for anything. As if a beacon you came into my life, into my dull, gray life and changed it in ways I didn't think was possible. Like I said, it's still hard to believe that someone as perfect as you would love someone as ordinary as me. But nevertheless, I am very glad for that. I wish for nothing more but to continue living with you besides me. You make my each day brighter and the mere thought of you lights something up inside of me. It's so warm. I wish to be able to make you experience such a feeling as well. Perhaps I already do, I sincerely hope so. _

_ Sometime earlier you mentioned that that music box I had gifted you a few years back was out of tune, right? You said you enjoyed it very much, so I decided to give you another one for you birthday, only a slightly upgraded one. You recognize the melody, right? I hope you'll like it. I had to use a lot of connections to put it together after all. _

_ I know that you're not usually used to such affection, but lately you've been growing distant and I'm fearing something is wrong. If I did something wrong, I'm sorry. Really, if it's because of me, if I don't meet your expectations or satisfy you enough, I am very genuinely sorry. I'm trying my best to love you as much as you love me. If it's not because of me, then please, tell me what's wrong. Don't keep it all to yourself. It's hurting me knowing that something is wrong, that you're upset. I don't want you to feel any kind of pain. I know this may sound cheesy, but really, you mean the world to me. I love you so so much. I've never felt any similar emotions to anyone else. I love you so much that it hurts. And I know I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't tell you that. _

_ So, anyway, I hope you have a wonderful birthday! You deserve the best after all. _

_ Best wishes, _

_ Kuroko Tetsuya _

…

At that moment, everything Akashi had been keeping locked up inside of him, broke out.

Such unbearable agony hit his already wounded heart, such excruciating pain twisted all his senses that Akashi forgot everything else apart from his crushing grief.

The male's legs gave out.

Someone was screaming. No, shrieking. Their cries were so broken, so filled with agony. Akashi didn't realize it was himself.

The realization was so torturous that he wished someone would just end his suffering already, permanently.

Tetsuya was dead. He was gone. He was never coming back. Never again talking, laughing, smiling, crying. Never again saying all those things.

Akashi didn't know what he was feeling anymore. Everything was too heavy. The pain, the guilt, the grief, the regret were all too heavy.

It was unbearable.

The dark forest was filled with his never-ending shrieks, filled with nothing but agony.

…

_** December 20th, 00:10 ** _

At one point Akashi's vocal chords gave out. Only then did that screeching cease. Instead, it was replaced with weeping. The redhead kept clenching that piece of paper tightly to his chest, never wanting to let go. Those were the last words Tetsuya had written to him. He only wanted to greet him for his birthday. How stupid was that? Tetsuya always didn't think things through. And now, it had come to this.

God, Akashi didn't know what to do with himself. With his life.

He didn't think about it. Only laid on the cold, hard ground, desperately holding onto that letter and whispering out Tetsuya's name between his sobs. Whispering random thoughts, that meant nothing anymore. Such as:

''You know, I wanted to propose to you. I wanted to spend my whole life with you. I was planning on doing so on your next birthday. I even got the ring and everything...''

All of this meant nothing anymore.

Nevertheless...

Akashi wanted to see him.

He _desperately_ wished to see him.

He didn't care how.

_ Just please, let me see him. One last time. _

_ I'm begging you. _

_ Let me see my Tetsuya. _

…

And he did.

Perhaps it was merely his imagination, but he could see him.

Just as Akashi remembered him. With those loving eyes and that gentle, albeit small smile. He kept gazing at the redhead for a few moments before slowly kneeling down next to him and extending his arms in his direction, silently asking Akashi to come to him.

Without a moment of hesitation, the freezing male, with great difficulty, lifted himself into a sitting position and embraced him, wrapping his arms around Tetsuya's frail body tightly. In return, Tetsuya hugged him protectively, bringing him into a reassuring embrace.

_ So warm. _

_ It was so warm. _

Akashi didn't feel the cold anymore. The agonizing pain from his chest faded away, everything else apart from that warmth disappeared. His eyes slowly closed as a whisper from Tetsuya reached his ears.

'' _Everything will be okay now._ ''

And it was.

.

.

.

_ Kuroko Tetsuya _

_ Time of death: 2015/12/19 22:38 _

_ Cause of death: drowned. _

  
  


_ Mayuzumi Chihiro _

_ Time of death: 2016/12/19 00:05 _

_ Cause of death: strangled. _

  
  


_ Akashi Seijuurou _

_ Time of death: 2016/12/20 00:12 _

_ Cause of death: frozen. _

_. _

_. _

_. _

_ You have 1 new message. _

** _K_ ** _ Ur _ **o** _k_ ** _o_** T ** _e_** _tSu_ ** _y_** _a:_ _Akashi-kun?_

…

** _Kuroko Tetsuya:_ ** _ /*E/** /*M/ */*K _

…

** _K_ ** _ u _ **R** _ o _ **_k_ ** _ O  _ **_T_ ** e _ T _ **_su_ ** _ y _ **a _:_** _ I love you, Akashi-kun _

…

** _Akashi Seijuurou:_ ** _ I love you too, Tetsuya _

_. _

_. _

_. _

** END **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand cut!
> 
> Yes, I just did that. I just killed Akashi on his birthday.  
> Uhh...  
> Happy birthday, Akashi?..  
> Yeah...  
> As you can see, I have a rather odd way of showing my love.  
> Yes.  
> Anyway...  
> Thank you all who have been reading this short story and commenting! It really meant the world to me! I hope I didn't let you down!
> 
> Also, you may be wondering what's up with that strange message at the end, the second from last. Weeell, funny thing. I could have not done that, but this way I'm setting up a tiny tiny tunnel to something else. And that would be the alternative version of this story, or rather, the ending. Instead of Akashi dying, something way different could happen. But hey, I'm not saying I will write that. I like the way this ended. But the alternative version is just very interesting in my head. But, umm, if you'd want that, I could try it. I'd to anything for my readers. But I won't unless you want me.
> 
> So, that's that! Hope you enjoyed this story!

**Author's Note:**

> And that's the first chapter. Your thoughts? How is it so far? It may not have enough horror elements so far, but I tried my best changing that in the future chapters. Again, I apologize if I'm not and will no be meeting your expectations. Nevertheless, I would still love to hear your thoughts (if anyone is reading this horrible excuse of a story).


End file.
